On June 4, 2024, at about 10:39 p.m., Columbus police went to the 700 block of Sullivant Avenue in Franklinton after a vehicle struck a utility pole. Officers found 21-year-old Caleb McKenzie injured and unresponsive inside the car; he was taken to Grant Medical Center, where doctors discovered he had been shot. McKenzie was pronounced dead at 11:03 p.m. that same night. What first looked like a traffic crash was later treated as a homicide.

McKenzie’s parents, Amber and Kevin Irby, described him as a great kid who didn’t bother anybody and loved his family, and said they were baffled over why he would be targeted. On June 18 a 16-year-old boy was arrested by the Columbus Police SWAT team and charged with murder; the suspect’s name has not been released because he is a minor. Police have not released further details about how the shooting occurred or a motive and continue to investigate.

If anyone saw activity in the 700 block of Sullivant Avenue on the night of June 4 or has information, contact Detective Pribe, the Homicide Unit, or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers.