Columbus police ID man found fatally shot near 20th Street Sunday morning

Columbus police have identified the man found shot to death near 12th Avenue and 20th Street Sunday morning.

Officers found 28-year-old Malik Easton around 6:30 a.m. lying unresponsive in the grass with gunshot wounds. Emergency Medical Services were unable to resuscitate Easton, and Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan pronounced Easton dead just after 7:30 a.m, police said in a news release.

This is Columbus’ 61st homicide of the year. No arrest has been made in the case. Anyone with information related to this case is encouraged to contact Detective Z. Cole at 706-225-4295 or email at ZCole@columbusga.org.

If you would like to remain anonymous, call 706-653-3188 or text VACS plus your tip to 274637 (CRIMES).

This story was originally published November 8, 2021 at 10:38 AM.

Nick Wooten

Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

Nick Wooten is the Accountability/Investigative reporter for the Ledger-Enquirer where he is responsible for covering several topics, including Georgia politics. His work may also appear in the Macon Telegraph. Nick was given the Georgia Press Association’s 2021 Emerging Journalist award for his coverage of elections, COVID-19 and Columbus’ LGBTQ+ community. Before joining McClatchy, he worked for The (Shreveport La.) Times covering city government and investigations. He is a graduate of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia.