Police say a shooting in Columbus, Ohio, was not an attack on a mosque, but was nearby

• Police confirmed the shooting took place at a nearby apartment complex, resulting in one fatality.
• Sgt. James Fuqua emphasized that the incident was unrelated to an event happening at the mosque.

Updated 19 October 2026 23:36

October 19, 2026 23:16

COLUMBUS: A reported shooting in the Ohio capital on Monday happened near a mosque, but it wasn’t an attack on the house of worship, authorities said.

Earlier Monday, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said in a post on X that agents were responding to a report of a shooting at the mosque, which is northeast of downtown Columbus. The area includes a cluster of two-story apartment buildings, in addition to a mosque.

But at a hastily assembled news conference near the scene, police Sgt. James Fuqua said the shooting happened at a nearby apartment complex and “was not an attack on the mosque,” noting that one person was killed.

“At the mosque, unfortunately, there was an event going on that had nothing to do with what was going on outside,” Fuqua said. “But it’s super important that I make it clear that this shooting had nothing to do with an attack on the mosque itself.”

Neither the police, the ATF, neighborhood officials nor the mosque immediately responded to phone messages seeking further information.