Columbus police were trying to arrest a 16-year-old on suspicion of burglary when they say he broke into a Far North Side home, held a person hostage, stole his car and fled after the homeowner shot at him.
The series of events began about 11:30 a.m. Aug. 28 when a Columbus police SWAT team and detectives
were looking for the teen along Stowbridge Drive in a neighborhood just west of Worthington Hills.Upon seeing officers arrive at the house, the teen jumped out of a window and fled on foot. Police say he then broke into a man's house on Selbourne Court, about a block from the first house.
Once inside, police say the teen held the man against his will. After about an hour, police said the teen stole the man's car keys and tried to flee in his vehicle.
They say the man fired a handgun as the teen was leaving, drawing attention from nearby officers.
After a vehicle chase – details of which police did not provide, including where it ended – officers arrested him. No one was hurt in the incident, police said, and he remained in custody as of later that evening.
A search for the teen in Franklin County jail and court records the morning of Aug. 29 yielded no results, and a court clerk told The Dispatch they had no record of him. Because he is a minor, it's possible he was being held and charged as a juvenile, meaning the records generally are not public.
Authorities are asking anyone with information about the incident to contact Columbus Police Robbery Unit Detective Rensch at 614-645-4662 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477.
Dean Narciso can be reached at dnarciso@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Teen shot at after holding man hostage, stealing his car, police say
