Anthony Johnson, 15, male, White/Caucasian, was shot in the afternoon on August 15, 2025, inside a home on the 600 block of Raleigh Drive in west Columbus. Officers arrived around 3:45 p.m. to find Anthony Johnson suffering from a gunshot wound, and medics rushed him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4:40 p.m. The scene quickly drew homicide detectives as family notifications were made and the home became the center of a painstaking search for answers.
In the hours after the shooting, details began to take shape. According to local reporting, Anthony Johnson was discovered on the kitchen floor, and investigators believe he and the alleged shooter had been alone together in the basement just before the gunfire. What happened in those moments remains the focus of the investigation, but authorities say early witness statements and digital evidence helped piece together the chain of events that led to the teenager’s death.
Police moved swiftly. Detectives secured a murder warrant for 19-year-old Jordan Austin, and Columbus Police SWAT officers arrested him without incident the next day. Officials announced the arrest as part of an ongoing homicide investigation, indicating that while a suspect was in custody, detectives were still working to confirm what sparked the encounter and to document every step of the case.
Beyond the crime scene and court filings, the loss of Anthony Johnson resonates as a family and community tragedy. Obituary notices describe a teenager who loved video games and making people laugh, remembered for a bright smile and a kind heart—reminders of the quiet details that outlast the headlines as those who knew him wait for justice to run its course.
