Columbus, Ohio: Indya Dickerson Dead in Gibbard Avenue Shooting, Christian Houchins Charged With Murder

A woman is dead and a second woman is expected to survive after a shooting on the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 4, in the 800 block of Gibbard Avenue in Milo-Grogan, on Columbus's Near East Side. Columbus police identified the woman who died as Indya Dickerson, 25, and said Christian Houchins, 34, has been arrested and charged with murder and felonious assault in the shooting.

Officers responded at about 7:37 a.m. on Nov. 4 to a report that two women had been shot. Both women had been struck by shotgun rounds, police said. Columbus Division of Fire medics took both to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center in critical condition. Dickerson was pronounced dead at the hospital at 8:25 a.m. Police have not identified the second woman, and said she is expected to survive.

The suspect

According to a criminal complaint, witnesses identified the shooter as a man named Chris who goes by the nickname "Uno" and who fled the area in a black vehicle. Detectives later determined the suspect was Houchins, who lives in the Marion-Franklin neighborhood. Houchins turned himself in to Columbus police in the 400 block of North Champion Avenue in the Mount Vernon neighborhood, and he was arrested on Nov. 4.

Police said in a news release that the shooting came out of a domestic dispute between Dickerson and Houchins. He is charged with one count of murder and one count of felonious assault. He was held in the James A. Karnes Franklin County Corrections Center and was scheduled for arraignment on Nov. 5.

A June case at the same address

Court records show the Gibbard Avenue address was already before a court in a case involving Houchins. Franklin County Municipal Court records indicate that in June he was charged with one misdemeanor count each of domestic violence and assault over a prior incident at the Gibbard Avenue address. He was first held with no bond and pleaded not guilty, records show.

Houchins, who claimed indigency, was later released on bond with conditions. The conditions required him to stay away from the victim and from the Gibbard Avenue address, and barred him from consuming alcohol or drugs, records indicate. When he failed to appear for a scheduled hearing on Oct. 5 in that case, a judge issued a bench warrant for his arrest. He was still under that warrant when he was arrested after the Nov. 4 shooting, according to the records reported by local outlets.

The investigation

Columbus police detectives are still investigating the shooting. Police ask anyone with information to contact the Columbus Division of Police Homicide Section at 614-645-4221. People who want to stay anonymous can contact Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS.

Charges are allegations. Houchins is presumed innocent unless he is proven guilty in court.