Man charged with attempted murder for shooting at police on I-71

On Mar 13, 2022

A screenshot from an Ohio Department of Transportation camera in Delaware County showing the backup on Interstate 71 from a shooting incident along the interstate reportedly involving Columbus police and a gunman on foot.

Authorities have identified a man accused of standing on Interstate 71 northbound and shooting at vehicles Friday morning near the Gemini Place interchange.

Jonathan Myers, 21, of Columbus, has been charged with attempted aggravated murder in the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas, according to a complaint obtained by The Dispatch.

Altogether, Myers hit three vehicles and the complaint states that he allegedly shot at a Columbus police cruiser.

A video posted on Twitter — taken by a female passenger inside the vehicle of a couple traveling southbound on I-71 — shows the suspect suddenly turn and fire multiple times at the cruiser, striking it at least once in the hood.

Delaware County prosecutor Melissa A. Schiffel said in a statement posted on Facebook that a van transporting students to a state wrestling tournament was also targeted. The van was carrying two members of the Madison High School wrestling team and two coaches who were traveling to Ohio State University’s Schottenstein Center.

A photo from the active shooter scene Friday morning on Interstate 71 shows a bullet hole in the front of a Columbus police cruiser that was allegedly fired by the gunman at police. The multiple bullet holes in the windshield were fired by the officer inside returning fire.

“I am so thankful for the men and women of law enforcement who descended on this chaotic scene to protect all of the human life on the road way today…” Schiffel said in the recorded statement. “I have zero tolerance for shooting at law enforcement and for endangering the lives of citizens in Delaware County.”

The incident began around 9:56 a.m. Friday when a man who authorities now believe was Myers, driving a 2014 Gray Ford Fusion went off the left side of I-71 northbound north of East Powell Road and the Gemini Place/IKEA Way exit in Delaware County and struck a cable barrier in the median, according to the Ohio Highway Patrol.