Police say the suspect fired multiple shots in the parking lot of a Merion Village restaurant that morning, including at least one at a police officer. On Thursday evening, Columbus police identified the gunman and released footage from a body camera that showed an officer shooting the suspect and hurting him.
Raymond Richard Hampton, 26, of the South Side, was shot by police early Thursday morning after multiple attempts to persuade him to put down his gun, police said. He was in critical condition when he was taken to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, but his condition has since been upgraded to stable, and he is expected to live.
Hampton has been charged with three counts of felony assault on law enforcement officers.
According to Deputy Chief Smith Weir, several officers arrived at Tee Jaye’s Country Place, 1385 Parsons Ave., after responding to an alert from the ShotSpotter Gunshot Detection System of gunfire there around 5:15 a.m.
Officers arrive at the restaurant and see a man with a firearm behind a dumpster in the parking lot. Over the course of three minutes, officers asked the man to give up and come out from behind the trash can many times.
Hampton can be heard yelling back at the officers, including his fear that if he surrenders, he will lose his gun.
“I’ve Been Through A Lot, And I Can’t Help It,” the man behind the dumpsters is heard saying.
“Let us assist you,” a police officer replied.
Gunfire can be heard around one minute and 45 seconds into the video interaction, and officers state that Hampton is shooting at them.
An officer yells, “It doesn’t have to be this way,” about three minutes and thirty seconds into the video.
Another gunshot is heard a split second later, and an officer in the frame of the video steps back, stating that he has been shot at.
Then another officer fires, claiming to have hit Hampton. A supervisor advises caution when approaching the suspect until the location of the suspect’s gun can be determined.
Officers then move behind the dumpsters to locate two weapons and secure Hampton, who has a gunshot wound. Officers provide medical assistance and summon medics. Officers are instructed to use crime scene tape to protect the scene.
Weir stated that a rifle and a pistol were recovered from the location where Hampton was allegedly firing from. He claimed that officers were shot at least once during the incident.
Hampton was taken to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, where he was initially listed in critical condition but was later upgraded to stable. There were no officers injured.
According to police radio traffic and information provided to officers, Hampton may have made suicidal threats before opening fire on the officers. On Thursday, neither Weir nor Jeff Simpson, President of the Fraternal Order of Police Capitol City Lodge #9, could confirm that information.
According to City of Columbus policy, the investigation into the officer-involved shooting will be handled by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations. Investigators from the BCCI were on the scene on Thursday morning.
Hampton, according to his Facebook profile, is a 2015 graduate of Westland High School on the Far West Side. The account has also shared pictures and ads for clothing with statements that support gun rights, the Second Amendment, and self-defense.
A LinkedIn profile that appears to be associated with Hampton states he worked as a labourer and has volunteered part-time at the Reeb Center, a South Side social services facility.
Weir refused to comment on what Hampton might have been doing prior to the incident.
Simpson stated on Thursday that it was unclear whether the man was firing his weapon at anything specific before officers arrived. He stated that police would not use a stun gun on someone who was actively firing a weapon.
“When you have someone with a firearm, we will do everything in our power to keep the community safe,” Simpson said.
During the Thursday evening press conference, police did not identify the officers involved. They will be placed on administrative leave in accordance with the Division of Policy, pending the outcome of the BCI investigation.
Since Donovan Lewis’ death, this is the first person shot by Columbus police.
This is the first shooting involving Columbus police in which a person has been injured since Donovan Lewis’ death on August 30. Officer Rickey Anderson shot Lewis in the abdomen while he was in his apartment on the 3200 block of Sullivan Avenue.
Officers had arrived at Lewis’ apartment around 2 a.m. to arrest him on outstanding warrants for domestic violence, assault, and felony improper firearm handling. Officers on the scene knocked on the apartment door for over eight minutes before two people inside opened it.
A police K-9 was used to search the apartment, and audio from a body camera shows that someone inside, likely Lewis, talks to the dog and closes the bedroom door.
Anderson fired a single shot less than a second after opening the bedroom door, striking Lewis in the abdomen.
Lewis was holding a vape pen when he was shot. The apartment contained no firearms.
Anderson is still on paid administrative leave while the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation finishes its investigation into the shooting.
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