Columbus homicides dropped by a considerable number in 2025, with the cityfinishing out the year with 84 homicides – a 33% decrease from 2024 and the lowest number of killings in Columbus since 2007.
The Dispatch tracks all homicides to get a sense of where violence is happening in the city and Franklin County and to remember the victims. This list is preliminary, and the number of homicides can change as law enforcement investigates each case and decides whether the killing was criminal, justified, accidental, or the result of suicide.
The Dispatch excludes fatal overdoses, accidents, suicides and hit-and-run deaths deemed unintentional by law enforcement. The information we compile comes from Columbus and Franklin County law enforcement, court records and interviews with family and loved ones of homicide victims and is subject to change.
18-year-old dies at North Side shooting scene
Nathaniel Joseph Kerby, 18, died at the scene of an apparent shooting about 1:35 a.m. March 7 in the 1100 block of Mediterranean Avenue, Columbus police said…