Columbus homicides dropped by considerable numbers in 2024 , with the city experiencing a 17% decrease in killings over the previous year. The downward trend has continued in 2025 with homicides and shootings down through the first several months of the year .

The Dispatch tracks all homicides to get a sense of where violence is happening in the city and Franklin County and to remember the victims. This list is preliminary, and the number of homicides can change as law enforcement investigates each case and decides whether the killing was criminal, justified, accidental, or the result of suicide.

The Dispatch excludes fatal overdoses, accidents, suicides and unintentional hit-and-run deaths. The information we compile comes from Columbus and Franklin County law enforcement, court re

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