Columbus police respond to violent crime over Independence Day weekend
Columbus saw an uptick in crime during the past week with four homicides in multiple shootings that occurred in the city since Thursday.
Columbus Police Department Deputy Chief Lance Deaton spoke with the Ledger-Enquirer on Tuesday to discuss these recent crimes.
Deaton said it’s not uncommon for CPD to see an increase in crime during holiday weekends.
“My whole career, New Year’s and Fourth of July are the two times where we see those upticks, which is why we put additional units out, we put additional resources in places because we’re anticipating those kind of upticks because it’s a holiday,” he said.
Deaton said the department has units within CPD that the department places based on data they receive.
“This is a time of year where we start to see the stats start to climb in the summer months,” he said.
This time last year, CPD had investigated 20 murders. This year to date, that number is 14, CPD public information officer Brittany Santiago told the L-E.
There is no indication that any of the four homicides since Thursday are related to one another, according to Deaton.
Deaton said the two homicides Saturday are domestic incidents and the suspects have been arrested.
“The other two right now, we don’t believe are related,” he said. “I would just simply say that those cases are still under investigation, and we’ll see what those end up looking like as we gather more information throughout the course of the process,” Deaton said.
Deaton said there seems to be some indication that the drive-by shootings of two houses between Thursday night and Friday morning could be related to one of the homicides.
When asked whether gang activity is believed to be involved in these drive-by shootings Deaton said, “We don’t know yet. It’s possible. We certainly would not rule that out, but it’s too early in the investigation to make that connection.”
Can Columbus crime still be reduced by 50%?
Columbus Police Chief Stoney Mathis said in May he believes the department could cut crime by 50% by the end of the year with the help of a recent 30-day initiative to deter crime as warmer weather begins.
Deaton said he thinks this goal still is possible.
“We had been up to a 31% decrease in Part I crimes,” he said. “We’re at about 26% right now.”
Deaton said CPD is working with their local, state and federal partners.
“I think it’s obtainable,” he said, “but I also think it’s one thing that you got to keep in perspective: If you look at this over the period of the last two years, we’re already at a 50% reduction in crime over the last two years.”
This story was originally published July 9, 2025 at 5:00 AM.