Two women killed in shooting at Merion Village pub, no suspects

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Two women were killed after a Wednesday night shooting outside a Merion Village bar.

The shooting was reported around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday outside Double D’s Pub, located at 1501 S. High St.

Columbus police said 24-year-old Tavia Copley, of the West Side, died at the scene.

Another woman, 24-year-old Taya Mollette, also of the West Side, was taken to an area hospital but died from her injuries at 12:29 a.m. Thursday.

Police said a third adult was also injured in the shooting and remains hospitalized but is expected to survive. No motive or suspect information was released by police.

Erick Bellomy Jr. of Franklinton was a friend of Copley’s. He said they grew up in the Southern Pines neighborhood on the city’s South Side.

Bellomy said Conley went to the Double D for a pre-birthday get-together. Copley was to have turned 25 on Friday.

“She was celebrating early. It ended up in a tragic situation where she can’t celebrate her birthday,” Bellomy said.

Copley also had a son who is about to turn 2, Bellomy said.

Bellomy is also the Ohio lead for Brady, the national anti-gun violence group. Bellomy lost his 44-year-old father in 2017 during an attempted robbery.

“Here we are again. I’m so tired of continuing to work on this issue and getting gut punched,” he said.

“I’m just shocked. I feel defeated. This is one of those instances where I feel absolutely defeated,” he said.

Double D’s Pub was closed Thursday night. Outside, people had created a memorial, placing candles along a fence and putting signs on a post while tying balloons and flowers to the fence.

Kris Jude, 26, of the South Side was sitting in a vehicle outside the bar along High Street, smoking a cigarette. He was there the night before and said Copley was there to shoot pool. He said he was inside the bar when the shooting happened outside. After describing that to a reporter, the driver of vehicle pulled away.

Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at 614-645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS. All tips to Crime Stoppers are anonymous.

Columbus police also announced Thursday the arrest of a suspect in a fatal Southeast Side shooting that occurred nearly one month ago.

Around 7:05 p.m. on Aug. 15, police got a call about an apartment door being open at an apartment on the 4600 block of Refugee Road. Officers found 19-year-old Jaijuan Jenkins, who had been shot, inside the apartment. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Columbus police said 18-year-old Jaylon Wilson, of the East Side, was arrested at an unspecified out of state location on Tuesday. Wilson has been charged with murder in connection with Jenkins’ death.

Wilson will be extradited back to Ohio at a later date to face charges.

Dispatch reporter Mark Ferenchik contributed to this story.

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