A 2-year-old girl, VaNyiah Mason, died after a shooting at a home in the 1500 block of East Long Street in Columbus, Ohio, on the evening of Monday, December 22, 2025. Officers were dispatched about 8:30 p.m.; first responders found the toddler with a gunshot wound and she was taken to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, where she later died. She had celebrated her second birthday weeks earlier.

Columbus Police Homicide Unit investigators described the incident as a non-intentional shooting that occurred inside the residence and said the firearm discharge was accidental. Detectives were probing how the child accessed the weapon; the victim’s grandmother said the gun belonged to the child’s uncle. No arrests or formal charges had been announced in the days immediately following the death. Detective Kindler, with Detective Yoder, was leading the inquiry and asked anyone with information to contact the Homicide Unit.

Are there witnesses or neighbors who saw activity at that address on the night of December 22 who can help investigators?