Police release identities of shooting victim, suspect

Two people are dead after a shooting incident Thursday night in downtown Columbus. The incident happened at around 9 p.m.  when police were called to the 1500 block of Lafayette Avenue on a report of shots fired, says Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus Police Department.

Photo courtesy of Columbus Police Dept.
Photo courtesy of Columbus Police Dept.

Harris says that when officers arrived on the scene, they found 43-year 43-year-old Kelly R. Baker, of Columbus, outside of the home suffering from multiple gunshots. She was taken to Columbus Regional Health before being flown to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis in critical condition. Baker later succumbed to her injuries.

A suspect, 44-year-old Brian F. Mitchell, of Columbus, holed up in a house on Lafayette Avenue. Harris says the SWAT team was called in and spent several hours trying to get Mitchell to come out of the house. At about 2 a.m., The SWAT team, flanked by an explosives robot, entered the house and found Mitchell’s body in a bedroom.

Photo courtesy of Columbus Police Dept.
Photo courtesy of Columbus Police Dept.

Police have not given additional information on the circumstances surrounding the shooting.