Two Men Indicted, One Awaiting Sentencing in 2024 Shooting on State Route 161

Posted on 10/9/2025

Defendant: Saadik Hussein, Liban Guleed, Yahya Abdirizak

Defendants: Saadik Hussein, Liban Guleed, Yahya Abdirizak

Three men were charged in relation to a 2024 shooting on State Route 161 that left a passenger in a westbound vehicle paralyzed.
 
Saadik Hussein, 20, and Liban Guleed, 22, both of Columbus, face multiple charges of attempted murder and felonious assault with firearm and drive-by shooting specifications. Hussein and Guleed were indicted on Oct. 8 and are being held at the Franklin County Jail.
 
A third suspect, Yahya Abdirizak, 19, of Grove City, pleaded guilty on Sept. 17 to three counts of felonious assault and is awaiting sentencing.
 
Case Background
 
Just after 2 a.m. on Nov. 8, 2024, Blendon Township Police were called to a reported shooting on Route 161 near Interstate 270, just west of Sunbury Road. Responding officers discovered a man suffering gunshot wounds in a car pulled to the side of the road.
 
An investigation revealed that two vehicles — one with four occupants and the other with three — were traveling westbound on Route 161 when one vehicle pulled alongside the other and gunfire erupted.
 
Investigators say the shots came from the vehicle with three occupants. A 19-year-old in the other vehicle was struck several times and hospitalized in critical condition; he has been paralyzed ever since.
 
Over the course of the investigation, Blendon Township detectives identified and located the three suspects and compiled enough evidence against them for a Franklin County grand jury indictment.
 
“This was a difficult case with a lasting impact on the victim and his family,” said Blendon Township Police Chief John Belford. “This was an ambush on innocent young men who were just on their way home from work. We are grateful for the teamwork and professionalism of our Detective Bureau and the assistance of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, BCI, and the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office.”
 
Abdirizak appeared in court on Sept. 17 to plead guilty to the charges against him. Guleed and Hussein are scheduled to be arraigned on Oct. 10.