By Ashley Silver
Police1
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Newly released bodycam footage shows a tense shootout between Columbus police and an armed suspect.
WBNS News reported police were initially called to a neighborhood for a report of shots fired. Video shows Officer Payne Vantilburg arriving at the location and speaking with a man, who was later identified as Lamar Blue. After a short interaction, officers asked the man to remove his hand from his pocket. Seconds later, Blue pulls a shotgun from behind his body and opens fire on the officers.
Vantilburg returned fire and hit the man, but Blue still managed to flee. Officers eventually found him nearby, giving him medical attention before being transported to a hospital.
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“I believe the quick action of the officer that fired shots saved both those officers’ lives,” Police Chief Elaine Bryant said in a press conference.
During the press conference, Bryant said it’s the second time officers have been fired upon in less than two weeks. No officers were injured during this incident.
“Our officers are making contact with residents, with citizens, with people that are armed and they just never know just what kind of situation they are walking into,” Bryant said. “They had no idea they were going to encounter someone that was going to pull a shotgun, a deadly weapon, on them, in the blink of an eye.”
Blue was charged with two counts of felonious assault.