Latest reporting from the Public Safety desk.
Public Safety
A Bureau of Justice Statistics report found nonfatal violent victimization at school jumped from 14.2 to 21.8 per 1,000 students in 2024, with suburban students reporting the highest total victimization rate of any locale at 31.5 per 1,000. The federal government classifies Hilliard City School District as "Suburban, Large."
Public Safety
Franklin County Public Health plans to spray six Hilliard neighborhoods for mosquitoes Monday night after traps tested positive for West Nile virus, as Franklin County leads Ohio with 668 positive mosquito pools this year.
Public Safety
Hilliard Police Chief Michael Woods said the officer-involved shooting on Lowell Lane stemmed from a public indecency warrant tied to a Sept. 11 grocery store incident, with the suspect now hospitalized in stable condition and facing possible additional charges.
Public Safety
Franklin County Sheriff's Office narcotics K9s Bruno and Finn joined K9 units from three other central Ohio agencies for drug-search and apprehension training at Zoombezi Bay near Powell on Sept. 15.
Public Safety
A Hilliard police officer shot a suspect in the chest on Wednesday, Sept. 16, after the man allegedly pulled a gun during an attempted arrest at a northwest Columbus apartment complex. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is leading the probe.
Public Safety
Westbound Roberts Road closes Monday, Sept. 21, for full reconstruction tied to the Alton Place development, with a detour via Alton & Darby Creek Road and Walker Road lasting through the fall.
Public Safety
A Columbus man who harassed a Hilliard woman with AI-generated explicit images was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison, becoming the first person convicted under the Take It Down Act in a case that originated with the Hilliard Police Department.
Public Safety
Columbus suspended its Flock license plate reader program after a police officer allegedly searched one vehicle 272 times, raising oversight questions for Hilliard PD's 15-camera network that logged more than 404,000 plate reads in the past 30 days.
Public Safety
Hilliard police highlighted K9 Judge and Sgt. Satterfield on National Police K9 Day as the pair begins training with an Ohio-certified facility, weeks after the department retired veteran K9 Max.
Public Safety
Two people have died in separate crashes along the Roberts Road corridor near Hilliard since December 2025, and residents say the city of Columbus has not acted on its promise to study the dangerous stretch.
Public Safety
Franklin County's heat advisory now runs through 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, one day beyond the Thursday cutoff, as Hilliard residents head into the Labor Day weekend.
Public Safety
The National Weather Service extended a heat advisory covering Hilliard and Franklin County through 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3, with heat index values expected between 100 and 105 degrees.