North Side girl, 5, dies after accidental shooting

Saga Communications

COLUMBUS – Columbus police are urging gun owners to take advantage of the city’s free gun locks program after a 5-year-old girl died in an accidental shooting Saturday.

Serenity Robinson was one of five people killed in shooting incidents over the weekend in Columbus.

She was shot in the head after apparently getting hold of the weapon in an apartment on Via Da Vinci Court on the city’s North Side.

Commander Robert Strausbaugh of the police major crimes bureau said officers called to the complex at approximately 9:45 a.m. found the child’s father trying to revive her.

She was taken to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, where she was pronounced dead shortly after 10:30 a.m., Sgt. Eric Pilya of the Homicide Unit said.

Firearm owners can pick up free gun locks, no questions asked, at any of the city’s fire stations, thanks to a program approved by Columbus City Council earlier this year.

Four other people were killed in weekend shootings, raising the total number of homicides in Columbus this year to 126:

Friday – 2:30 p.m.: Todd Burris II, 41, was shot to death in the 700 block of S. Broadleigh Road.
Saturday– 2:13 a.m.: Marshawn Sullens, 25, was fatally shot when several people exchanged gunfire during a large fight outside the Spotlight Lounge, 1662 W. Mound Street.
Sunday – 10:50 a.m.: An unidentified man was found, apparently shot to death, in the parking lot of an auto service center at 6853 Cleveland Avenue. (UPDATE 8/3/21 6:40 a.m.: The victim in this homicide has been identified as Charles Jones Jr., 28.
Sunday – 10:13 p.m.: Martin Lemounte Hall, 43, was shot following an argument earlier in the day and was found in the 400 block of S. Hampton Road. He was taken to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, where he died a short time later.

Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to contact the Homicide Unit at 614-645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS (8477).

Two men were injured when they were shot by two suspects behind the Park Street Cantina, 491 Park Street just after 2:00 a.m. Saturday.

Three other men were injured in separate shooting incidents.