Shooting Kills 1, Injures 2 as Gunfire Rocks Community Center

A shooting at a community center in Ohio left one person dead and two others injured on Wednesday.

Columbus police said that a female victim "succumbed to her injuries" after three people were shot in the parking lot of the Glenwood Community Center about 5:20 p.m. local time. No suspects were identified following the shooting, although police suspect that multiple people may have been responsible. The incident comes as the nation remains focused on gun control debate following multiple high-profile mass shootings.

"Right now, we don't have anyone identified as a shooter," Assistant Police Chief LaShawna Potts said during a press conference outside the community center. "We believe there may be multiple shooters. Right now, we can't confirm if any of the people who were shot were shooters or not, just that we do have three people that were shot."

Potts said that the shooting victims included two women and one man, all young adults. She said officers discovered that two people had been shot in the parking lot when they arrived at the center and soon discovered the third victim after following "the blood trail." The condition of the injured victims was unknown at the time of publication.

The community center is currently being used as a cooling center due to a recent heatwave and power outages in the area. Witnesses said that the shooting happened amid an argument in a parking lot near a swimming pool, according to The Independent.

Potts also suggested that the shooting happened in a dispute involving a gun owner who was not "responsible" but did not elaborate further due to the investigation.

"Unfortunately, when you have people who handle problems with weapons, we're gonna see this," said Potts. "If you do have weapons, you have to be a responsible gun owner, we've said that from day one. Tragically, when arguments turn into violence [and] violence turns into using weapons, this is what you have."

"It's incumbent on the citizens; don't bring guns to parks and pools," she added. "This is a place where people are supposed to be able to enjoy themselves. It's hot. And so, tempers, we've got to leave that at home."

Newsweek has reached out to the Columbus Police Department for additional comment.

Lawmakers in Washington, D.C., are currently working toward a bipartisan compromise on reforming gun laws at the federal level. A bill that includes measures like raising the minimum age to purchase an assault rifle and banning so-called "ghost guns" passed in the House last week, albeit with the support of only five Republicans.

A bill offering fewer new restrictions passed in the Senate on Sunday with the support of 10 Republicans. Calls for tightening gun laws have been increasing due to incidents including the recent deadly mass shootings at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and a grocery store in Buffalo, New York.