A Deputy U.S. Marshal is expected to survive after being shot in Southeast Columbus on Wednesday morning, authorities said.
At 9:20 a.m., deputy U.S. Marshals and task force officers assigned to the Southern Ohio Fugitive Task Force (SOFAST) were conducting a fugitive investigation for an individual wanted by Columbus Police for aggravated robbery. As law enforcement officers were taking the individual into custody, an unknown male began firing at the officers from a nearby closet. That's when a deputy U.S. Marshal was struck in the upper torso, ABC6 reports.
"In response to the threat, officers discharged their firearms, striking the unknown subject," the United States Marshals Service said in a press release.
The wounded officer was transported to the hospital and is expected to survive.
Police report one person inside the home is deceased. The deceased is not the person they were looking for with the warrant. That individual was taken into custody, according to authorities.
Sgt. Brian Steel, vice president of Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge #9, stopped by the hospital to check on the injured officer.
"What we know now is we have a US Marshal up there. He shot. He shot pretty bad. We were told he will survive. But it's very difficult when you look at law-enforcement officer dedicated to uprooting and taking down crime in the city and you see him sitting there shot. Make no mistake about it. Columbus has fallen," said Sgt. Brian Steel, Vice President FOP Capital City Lodge #9.
