Grand jury declines to indict Ohio police officers involved in 2023 shooting at shopping plaza

COLUMBUS — A grand jury declined to indict two Ohio police officers in the shooting that killed a man at a shopping plaza last year.

Our news partners at WBNS-10 TV reported that a Franklin County grand jury did not charge two Columbus police officers in the Aug. 9, 2023 shooting of 29-year-old Austin Huntzinger.

On Aug. 9, 2023, officers were called to the 4000 block of South High Street on reports of a man with a gun.

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They received a second call shortly after about a man carjacking an individual in a nearby parking lot.

When officers arrived on scene, they found 29-year-old Austin Huntzinger inside the carjacked vehicle.

The prosecutor’s office said investigators determined that as the officers got out of their cruisers, Huntzinger got out of the carjacked vehicle with a gun in his hand.

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He then pointed the gun at the officers as he tried to flee the scene, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Officers instructed Huntzinger to drop the weapon, but he fired, hitting one of them in the thigh. Officers then returned fire and shot Huntzinger.

Medics took Huntzinger to Grant Medical Center where he died from his injuries.

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The injured officer survived his injuries.

The prosecutor’s office says firearms testing confirmed that Huntzinger fired his weapon twice.

Body camera and Cruiser cam footage captured the incident and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation investigated.

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