Suspect charged with murder in Food Mart shooting on Floyd Road

A month after two men were shot Feb. 9 near the Lucky Food Mart, Columbus police have charged a suspect in the 2026 Floyd Road shooting with murder and other charges.

Tommy Toombs, Jr., 19, was taken into custody Friday and charged with one count each of murder in the death of Nicholas Xavier Morris, aggravated assault in the shooting of a second man and criminal attempt armed robbery in connection with the incident. Toombs is held in the Muscogee County Jail for an initial hearing in Recorder’s Court at 9 a.m. Saturday.

Police used video images from the area in an attempt to identify a witness. After the person in the surveillance photo was identified and interviewed, the police investigation led to Toombs’ arrest on the charges.

Two men were shot near the Lucky Food Mart at 8 p.m. and one later died. One was found lying on the ground on the east side of parking lot and police found the second victim in the street on Kingsberry Drive which is just across Floyd Road.

Morris, 20, was pronounced dead of a gunshot at 9:26 a.m. Feb. 11 at Midtown Medical Center.

A Columbus patrol officer was on Floyd Road when the shooting occurred. The officer was traveling north when he heard gunfire in the parking lot of the convenience store. After pulling into the parking lot, he saw a black four-door vehicle fleeing out of the north driveway and heading west on Hunter Road. The vehicle then continued north on Floyd Road.

This story was originally published March 9, 2018 at 6:18 PM with the headline "Suspect charged with murder in Food Mart shooting on Floyd Road."