Bodycam footage released showing officer-involved shooting of homicide suspect in Columbus | Law Enforcement Today

COLUMBUS, OH - Authorities with the Columbus Police Department (CPD) have released body-camera footage showing the officer-involved shooting of a homicide suspect during a police pursuit on the city's northeast side.

According to WBNS, the suspect, a 16-year-old, is accused of shooting and killing 39-year-old Alejandro Lopez-Lechuga outside of another apartment complex on Jester Lane during the morning hours on Wednesday, November 20th. Witnesses to the incident said that the teen was trying to break into vehicles outside of the apartments when Lopez-Lechuga intervened.

Sgt. Joe Albert said that homicide detectives obtained video evidence that led them to identify the 16-year-old boy as a suspect in the fatal shooting as well as the suspect vehicle that left the scene. Police and SWAT officers set up surveillance on the suspect's address. 

The teen left the residence in what police believe is the same vehicle seen at the shooting on Jester Lane. Officers followed the vehicle to the 6000 block of Cooper Colony Drive later that afternoon. Albert said an officer attempted to pull over the vehicle. Instead of following the officer's orders, the suspect got out of the passenger side of the car with a rifle in his hand and started running in front of an apartment building. 

Body-camera footage from three different officers who were at the scene have been released. One of the videos shows an officer getting out of his vehicle and multiple officers can be heard telling the suspect to put his hands in the air. The video shows the suspect running in front of the officer with the rifle in his hand.

The officer fires two shots and the suspect drops the gun. At least four more shots can be heard as the suspect continued to run. Officers are seen running after the suspect and can be heard ordering him to the ground, to which he finally complied. The suspect was shot at least once. 

Body-camera footage from another officer shows him putting the armed suspect in handcuffs. As officers worked to coordinate getting a medic to arrive at the scene, they found the suspect was shot in what appeared to be his chest and hip. Within roughly two minutes, tactical medics arrived. The suspect was then carried to an ambulance. He was taken to Riverside Methodist Hospital where his was listed in stable condition as of Friday, November 22nd. 

The suspect has been charged with murder and two counts of felonious assault in the Jester Lane shooting. He has previously faced charges including sexual battery and theft. Police said it's also possible he will face charges for the other incident as well. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating the officer-involved shooting, which is part of standard procedure with police shootings.