Bullet shot into van at used car lot tied to five others
COLUMBUS, Ohio (CNN) --Authorities announced Tuesday that another shooting -- this one from mid-November -- has been linked to a string of shootings near a major highway encircling Ohio’s capital city of Columbus.
That makes 15 shootings authorities consider linked because of their proximity to Interstate 270 and similarity of details.
A bullet found November 15 after a van in a used car lot just north of I-270 was reported with a bullet hole in it has been matched to bullets from five of the other shootings, said Chief Deputy Steve Martin of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department.
The six shootings authorities now link to the same gun include the slaying of 62-year-old Gail Knisley on November 25.
Martin said authorities are also looking into a report from a woman driving Tuesday morning on High Street, just inside I-270, who said a man in a tan vehicle pulled up beside her and pointed a gun at her. No shots were fired, and she drove off.
When asked about reports that a tan vehicle was also seen near the scenes of some shootings, Martin said investigators are keeping an open mind.
“One thing we want to guard against is what happened in other venues where they put out a specific kind of vehicle and everybody gets that kind of a focus,” he told reporters. “We don’t want to get tunnel vision.”
Martin was referring to the Washington-area sniper shootings last year, in which investigators put out a description of a white box truck that had reportedly been seen at many of the shooting sites.
The two men accused in the shootings -- one of whom has been convicted of one -- were arrested in a dark blue Chevrolet Caprice.
Martin said more than 1,500 leads have been called in to the task force tip line, and the reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case stands at $20,000.
On Monday, transportation workers installed cameras on the southern corridor of I-270, where most of the shootings have occurred.
Authorities theorize that the shooter or shooters are familiar with the village of Obetz, population 4,000, which lies just inside I-270 on Columbus’ south side, and may live, work or drive through that area.