A specialized unit within the Columbus Division of Police that focuses on solving nonfatal shootings is showing promise, according to the police chief.
Since launching the Nonfatal Shooting Team pilot program in March 2024 and focusing on solving shootings in South Linden and Milo-Grogan, the team has handled 78 cases involving shootings and has solved 75% of those cases, according to Columbus police Chief Elaine Bryant and Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther.
“Our goal is to treat nonfatal shootings with the same intensity and importance as homicides,” said Bryant.
Bryant, along with Ginther and several assistant chiefs within the police division, held a press conference Nov. 12 at a Columbus police precinct at 1371 Cleveland Ave. to discuss the results and future plans with the team.
Columbus police have filed a total of 484 charges in connection with these shootings, Bryant said. The range of charges include felonious assault, attempted murder, aggravated robbery, and aggravated burglary, according to Columbus police data.
Bryant could not say how many of these charges have led to convictions, but said that solving these shootings prevents future shootings and homicides, since these crimes are committed by a small number of people.
The city is experiencing “the lowest levels of violent crime in decades,” Ginther said.
As of Nov. 11, there have been 69 homicides in Columbus in 2025, compared to 106 at the same time in 2024 and 136 in 2023, according to Columbus police data.
Columbus police Sgt. Scott Soha, who leads the Nonfatal Shooting Team, thanked efforts from community members to assist officers in solving these shootings and getting those responsible off of the street.
“Shooters remain shooters until we stop them,” said Soha.
Bryant touts team model similar to homicide unit
In addition to working with community members, Bryant explained that the success of the Nonfatal Shooting Team also comes from its team model, which mirrors the police division’s Homicide Unit.
The 2022 change to a team unit for the homicide unit helped to balance caseloads among investigators and created a “cohesive approach” to solving the city’s violent crime while dedicating resources to those teams, according to Jennifer Lockery, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office. The team model is credited for the increase in Columbus police’s homicide solve rate from between 40% and 50% to 80%, Lockery said.
Bryant applied the same approach to solving nonfatal shootings. Before the Nonfatal Shooting Team, a shooting would be assigned to two detectives in the felony assault squad. Now, a team of eight detectives and two patrol officers respond to shootings, Bryant said.
“When looking at nonfatal shootings, it just made sense to look at a similar concept as the homicide team,” Bryant said.
Columbus police eye potential zones for nonfatal shooting team
Bryant said that her next goal is to have a Nonfatal Shooting Team launched in another zone in spring 2026. However, she said she was unsure yet where the team would be deployed, noting that it would be determined by crime data.
Her ultimate goal, she said, is to have a nonfatal shooting team for every zone in Columbus.
While Columbus police as well as city officials have touted ShotSpotter — the gunshot detection system the city leases — to respond to and solve shootings, Ginther and Department of Public Safety officials said there were no immediate plans to expand ShotSpotter’s coverage in conjunction with the nonfatal shooting team.
“This is what innovation in public safety looks like. Collaboration, the innovative use of data, the pursuit of justice and compassion in equal measure,” said Ginther. “It’s about saving lives, strengthening trust and taking back our neighborhoods, one case at a time.”
Rev. Timothy Liggins, pastor at Bethel A.M.E. Church on the Northeast Side, said that the team’s impact has been felt in the community. He recalled moments where he witnessed children running from gunfire, and now he is able to see them playing outside without worry.
“(Columbus police) didn’t just come and arrest their way out of this,” said Liggins. “They really invested in the community.”
Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, at ShahidMeighan on X, and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus police tout 75% solve rate for pilot Nonfatal Shooting Team
Reporting by Shahid Meighan, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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