Community mourns teen killed in Franklinton shooting
Mar 17, 2025
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A family is grieving after a 14-year-old boy was shot and killed early Saturday in Franklinton.
The Columbus Division of Police is still working to determine who is responsible.
The boy’s family is holding a candlelight vigil Monday in his honor.
Police sa
id that just before 1:30 a.m. Saturday, officers were alerted to a shooting on Dana Avenue in the Franklinton section of the city; the victim, Braiden Johnson, was found there. Police said several people at the scene were detained and a family member rushed Johnson to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A neighbor who wanted to remain anonymous said she was shaken by the incident.
“It's very scary to have something like that happen in front of your home and stuff, but it does weigh on my heart very heavily that it was a 14-year-old boy,” she said. “I would see them play basketball here and stuff like that.”
Brenda Johnson lost her son to gun violence several years ago; she now uses her story as a community activist, something she did Monday at a local school where she spoke with fifth-eighth grade students about the dangers of gun violence.
“We just have to stop it and, like, speaking to the youth and telling them my stories and my grandkids stories just, like, it really touches home because my grandkids are the same age as them, so they put themselves in my grandkids' shoes,” Johnson said.
She and her husband were awake and heard the sirens Saturday night.
“I have two 14-year-old grandkids, so putting myself in nurse shoes, I couldn't imagine, and that night that had happened, my husband and I were up late because we were remodeling, and we heard all the sirens going by and we both knew it wasn't good. It was a lot,” Johnson said.
Police said two people were arrested in connection to the shooting. However, they did not specify charges, saying the case will be presented to the Franklin County prosecutor’s office. ...read more read less