When a single gunshot rang out in the parking lot outside United Deli on Gardner Boulevard in East Columbus Wednesday, customers eating lunch inside rushed to the back of the store and John Musa, the owner and operator, ran out from behind the counter and locked the doors.
Neither the shooter nor the victim — nor any of the handful of witnesses outside the store — had been harmed during the shooting, which ended a fight that had been escalating in the parking lot by the gas pumps for several minutes.
“It’s not good for business,” Musa said later.
The shooting happened at about noon. The deli was crowded with lunchtime customers and Musa said he had been keeping one eye on the security footage as he took orders behind the counter. He saw the two vehicles — a black pickup followed by a green jeep — pull into the parking lot beside the gas pumps outside the deli. The drivers left their vehicles and began to talk in the parking lot without pumping any gas. Musa later said it was as though they’d agreed to meet there.
Then one of the men threw a punch.
A fight ensued with the two men pushing, punching and throwing one another to the ground. A handful of customers outside the deli gathered in shock, and at least one pulled out a cell phone and called 911. In the store behind the counter, so did Musa.
One of the men got to his feet and grabbed a long strip of wood from beside one of the pumps and started after the other. The two darted out of the sight of Musa’s security camera, but police who responded to the scene later said the other man had grabbed a baseball bat.
Then the man who had grabbed a stick went to his jeep and pulled out a handgun and shot, apparently hitting no one.
Outside the two men who had been fighting continued to talk for a couple of minutes, the security cameras showed, before they each got back in their vehicles and drove away.
The whole thing had happened in about three or four minutes. Musa kept the doors locked about five more minutes until officers with the Columbus Police Department arrived and roped off the scene. Customers flooded out to tell police what had happened. Assistant Police Chief Fred Shelton later credited the store’s customers with helping investigators.
CPD Chief Oscar Lewis confirmed CPD investigators have a suspect in custody but would not release his name or charges until after he goes before a judge later today.
“Thanks to the city and the county and everyone involved, you know, for the quick response,” Musa said. “We appreciate our customers too.”
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