Shooting stemmed from argument near Ohio State Fairgrounds, records say
Watch a previous NBC4 report on the incident in the video player above.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Authorities are searching for a 27-year-old man after one person was shot near the Ohio Expo Center on Thursday.
Stephon Malik Clerk, 27, has been charged with felonious assault, aggravated assault and receiving stolen property after he allegedly shot a man in the 700 block of East 17th Ave just before noon Thursday, according to Franklin County Municipal Court records. Clerk had an active warrant out for his arrest as of Friday afternoon.
Clerk and the victim had been in a verbal and physical altercation in the northwest corner of the fairgrounds before Clerk pulled out a gun. The criminal complaint document stated investigators would later determine it was a .38-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver marked as stolen since 2018.
The victim tried to grab at Clerk's wrist to push the firearm away but Clerk shot the victim in his stomach. The victim then took the gun from Clerk and ran to another part of the fairgrounds, according to the complaint.
Responding medics took the victim to the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in stable condition. Responding Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers later recovered the gun after the victim told them he threw it into a trashcan before calling 911.
Clerk has previously gone to Franklin County Municipal Court for five cases where he faced similar charges. He was convicted of misdemeanor assault in 2017. A judge dismissed the charges against him in one case in 2016 and three cases in 2019, where Clerk had been accused of aggravated burglary with inflicting harm, domestic violence and assault.