Shooting at Ohio vigil leaves 1 dead, 5 wounded, sheriff says

One person was killed and five others were injured during a shooting that took place at a vigil for a shooting victim on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio.

CNN reported that the shooting occurred in the parking lot of a Dollar General where a vigil was being held for Jarrin Hickman, who had been killed there one year prior.

According to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, a dark SUV drove by the vigil around 7:30 p.m. and began shooting at the crowd, hitting five people, including a 12-year-old child. All five people were taken to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.

Latoya Carpenter, 39, was not part of the vigil and was driving by the Dollar General when the shooting started. A bullet hit Carpenter in the head, causing her car to crash into a vehicle parked near the store, CNN reported. Carpenter was declared dead at the scene.

There are currently no suspects, and an investigation is underway.

This shooting comes as activists have renewed calls for gun control in light of a string of mass shootings across the U.S., including in Atlanta, Boulder, Colo., and Indianapolis.

In early April, President Biden said the epidemic of gun violence in the U.S. was an “international embarrassment.” Biden made the remark as he rolled out executive actions intended to combat gun violence, including proposed rules that would subject homemade “ghost guns” to background checks and legislation that would keep guns out of the hands of potentially dangerous individuals.

Former Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) made a similar remark on Sunday, saying the mass shootings are “embarrassing” for the U.S.

Appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Boehner expressed hope that “common ground” could be found in Congress on gun legislation.

“Hopefully, they will find some common ground because … frankly, it’s heartbreaking,” he said. “I think it’s embarrassing our country to the rest of the world, and we have got to find a way to deal with this problem.”