Columbus police are backtracking, claiming a man died by suicide in a shootout with police officers

Columbus police have rejected a claim that a man who died in an officer-involved shootout died by shooting, according to a retraction issued by the department Thursday morning.

The unidentified man died early Thursday from a gunshot wound that the department initially described as self-inflicted after a shootout with Columbus police. However, the head of the largest police union representing police in Franklin County said later Thursday that it was unclear whether the man was killed by shots fired by officers or the self-inflicted gunshot.

Police issued their first statement at 7:40 a.m. and sent their retraction more than two hours later at 11:00 a.m

“The previously distributed media release regarding the suspect allegedly suffering a ‘self-inflicted gunshot wound’ was sent out hastily and in error,” the statement said.

Police have not publicly identified the man killed in the incident. An initial statement from Columbus police said officers received a call shortly after 4 a.m. to respond to the 6800 block of Georges Creek Drive for a report of a man threatening to kill himself and the Harming people around him.

The officers who arrived confronted the man, who threatened to shoot himself. According to police, the man opened fire on the officers.

The man was pronounced dead at 4:32 a.m., according to the news release. Police have not said whether officers suffered injuries in the exchange.

Gender Road at George’s Creek Drive remained closed until about 11 a.m. Motorists struggled to avoid the roadblock to work while the Ohio Bureau of Investigation and the Franklin County Coroner secured the scene.

Brian Steele, president of the Franklin County Fraternal Order of Police, said he visited the scene Thursday morning. He said Columbus police told him a man was drunk and threatening to harm others and fired at least one shot at officers.

Steele said a Columbus police officer opened fire. The suspect was hit multiple times by police shots.

The shooting follows two police shootings over the weekend. On Saturday, a man was fatally shot after shooting a 45-year-old woman following a shootout with police. According to police and video, officers shot and killed a man on Sunday after he opened fire at an Amazon warehouse and shot at officers who had stopped his car.

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