Crime

Columbus man killed, four injured in drive-by shooting near ‘party house,’ police said

Up to 100 people may have been attending a house party when one man was killed and four others wounded in a reported drive-by shooting early Sunday, according to Columbus police.

Police were called around 3 a.m. to reports of people wounded by gunfire outside a residence in the 600 block of 32nd St. There they found 41-year-old Eric Devon Patterson dead on the sidewalk.

According to a release from the Columbus Police Department, investigators have been informed that another home in the same area of 32nd Street was being operated as a “party house/casino” by a gang of people who called themselves the “Lime Green Money Gang.” Twenty to 100 people may have been at the house.

While people were at the party house, a vehicle drove down the street and an unknown shooter fired several rounds from a firearm, police said.

The suspect vehicle is described as a dark gray or black sedan.

Investigators are attempting to find out what led to the incident and if a particular individual was being targeted.

Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan said he was called to the scene at 3:48 a.m., and pronounced Patterson dead from a gunshot wound at 4 a.m.

Four others wounded in the shooting were taken to local hospitals, the release said.

Patterson’s death marks Columbus’ 38th homicide in 2019.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact Sgt. D. Kraus at 706-225-4374 or dkraus@columbusga.org.

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This story was originally published December 15, 2019 at 7:21 PM.

Tim Chitwood
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
Tim Chitwood is from Seale, Alabama, and started as a police beat reporter with the Ledger-Enquirer in 1982. He since has covered Columbus’ serial killings and other homicides, following some from the scene of the crime to trial verdicts and ensuing appeals. He also has been a Ledger-Enquirer humor columnist since 1987. He’s a graduate of Auburn University, and started out working for the weekly Phenix Citizen in Phenix City, Ala.
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