Columbus police identify woman and man shot in murder-suicide

Columbus police confirmed Monday that the deaths of a woman and a man on Sunday were murder and suicide and identified the dead.

Police responded to a report of shots fired in the 1100 block of Parma Avenue on the city's southwest side on Sunday. When officers arrived at the home, they found two people inside with gunshot wounds, police said.

Beverly Barnes, 59, of Columbus' East Side, was found unconscious and later pronounced dead at the scene by Columbus Division of Fire paramedics at 2:07 p.m.

Police said the shooter, 55-year-old James Barnes, suffered at least one gunshot wound. He was taken by firefighters to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center downtown, where he was pronounced dead at 2:56 p.m.

Homicide investigators said James Barnes shot Beverly Barnes and then turned the gun on himself. Sergeant Michael Smith of the Columbus Police Department's homicide unit said he could not confirm whether the two were married.

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@ShahidMeighan