Four of the 12 shootings along Interstate 270 and surrounding areas are connected, including one at an elementary school, police said yesterday.
Ballistics tests have officially linked four of the 12 shootings, but Franklin County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Steve Martin said investigators are “comfortable” linking all 12 shootings in some way.
The school shooting occurred at Central Elementary, located at 1105 Rathmell Rd. in Hamilton Township, about 1:35 a.m. on Nov. 11. Because of the time of the shooting there were no children or employees on the premises, Martin said.
The bullet was found near a broken window by Maintenance Supervisor Don Curry, who filed a report with the Obetz Ohio Police Department the following day. Curry would not comment on the incident.
Martin said he has been in contact with the school’s superintendent and continues to work with Obetz police in the investigation.
“We’ll extend our protection. (The shooting at the school) took it off the interstate and it also took it off U.S. Route 23. It puts it more in a residential-type setting now,” Martin said.
Extra security will be provided for area schools, but police said there is no talk of cancellations at this time.
The first shooting occurred in May, the other 11 incidents took place the last several weeks. The first case linked to the I-270 shootings was a yellow freight truck that was hit in the driver-side window Oct. 19 near U.S. Route 62 on I-270.
Line Haul Operations, the company that employed the freight driver, continues to run routes through the outer-belt, because of city requirements. Bob Gifford, assistant manager of Line Haul Operations, said it’s “just part of our job,” and there has been no opposition from drivers.
The Sheriff’s office is offering a $10,000 reward for any information that leads to the arrest of the shooter. Authorities have received more than 525 leads in the investigation, but are refusing to provide any information about the shooter or the weapon.
Details in the investigation will not be released because the department wants people to be comfortable calling in tips and other suspicious behavior, Martin said.
“Depending on what type of weapon we are talking about, we don’t want to narrow that down, because we want people to call in,” Martin said.
Police hesitate to call the shooter a sniper; however, the series of incidents has raised concerns among interstate drivers.
Mike McGraner, 23, who lives near Grove City, said even though he has decided to use an alternate route of transportation, area residents seem to remain calm.
“I’m surprised that people aren’t more affected by it, but I think maybe what they feel and what they say are two different things,” McGraner said.
“If (the shooter) decides to shift they can, so really nowhere you live is safe, but no one is ever 100 percent safe,” McGraner said. “It does make you kind of uneasy knowing that there’s no pattern. It’s kind of weird.”
