Columbus Teen Accused of Shooting at Police Indicted on 20 Counts

Posted on 5/7/2025

Defendant: Tamari Stroughter

A Columbus teen accused of firing at four Columbus police officers in January following a fight with his girlfriend was indicted today on 20 felony counts stemming from three separate incidents.
 
A Franklin Country grand jury returned indictments against Tamari Stroughter, including four counts of felonious assault from the January shooting; two counts of aggravated robbery stemming from incidents in July and August; and one count of kidnapping from August.
 
Stroughter, who turned 18 in January — 13 days after the shooting incident — was initially charged as a juvenile. In April, his case was transferred to adult court, where he was ordered held on $2.1 million bond.
 
Case Background
 
Just before 11 a.m. on Jan. 9, 2025, Columbus Police received a 911 call from a young woman in the 1100 block of Lockbourne Road who said her boyfriend, Stroughter, had a firearm and had threatened to shoot her. The young woman had fled the area, but Stroughter remained at her mother’s home.
 
When police arrived at the house five minutes later, they found Stroughter, then 17, armed with a rifle. He allegedly fired multiple times at the officers before running away.  
 
Several officers joined the chase. At an alley west of Lockbourne Road and Kossuth Street, two officers encountered Stroughter, who allegedly began firing his rifle again, striking their cruiser at least twice.
 
Stroughter continued to run as police returned fire, tossing his rifle on a nearby roof before he was taken into custody. No one was hit or injured by the gunfire.
At the time of the incident, Stroughter was accused in connection with armed robberies in July and August 2025. He had also previously been convicted as minor in 2020 for robbery, which made it illegal for him to possess a firearm.

To read the full indictment, click here.