MellyMel Marquise Smith, a 27-year-old African American man, was found with gunshot wounds in the shared stairwell of an apartment building on Fountainview Court in Columbus, Ohio, on February 18, 2021. Officers responded around 1:10 a.m.; Smith was taken to Mount Carmel East Hospital and pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

Police say Smith was involved in an altercation with 23-year-old Amir Elkhabiry. Elkhabiry was arrested in connection with the killing; investigators reported finding him hiding in the trunk of his girlfriend’s car and in possession of the murder weapon. The homicide was the 29th in Columbus for 2021 and remains under investigation by the Columbus Police Homicide Section.

If anyone has information that could help the investigation, please contact the Columbus Police Homicide Section.