(HorizonPost.com) – A shooting at a mall in Columbus, Ohio on Sunday left one person dead and two teenagers in custody, The Hill reported.
WCMH in Ohio reported that police received a call at around 6:14 p.m. Sunday about an incident at Easton Town Center in Columbus.
According to Columbus Police Sgt. Joe Albert, a police officer on special duty at the mall discovered the victim on Grammercy Street near Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams about a minute later. The victim was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Albert said police locked down the area and escorted shoppers and mall employees to safety as they investigated the scene near where the victim was discovered.
In a statement Sunday, the management from Easton Town Center said that as of 7:39 p.m., the incident was “no longer an active situation.”
At a press conference Sunday night, Columbus Police Deputy Chief Greg Bodker said several juveniles had been detained in connection to the incident but so far no arrests had been made.
On Monday, Columbus police confirmed that the unnamed victim was a juvenile male and said two boys, both aged 13, had been arrested in connection to the incident.
One of the boys was charged with murder while the second was charged with obstructing justice.
During a court appearance on Monday, the attorney for the boy charged with murder denied the charge. The judge remanded the boy into custody until his next court appearance on Thursday. According to prosecutors, the boy attempted to stash the gun inside a trash can at the mall.
Prosecutors said the second boy lied to police about his whereabouts until he was spotted on security footage. The judge released the teen and ordered him to wear an ankle monitor. As a condition of his release, the boy can only leave home to attend school and cannot access social media.
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