Public Safety

Teen charged in fatal Columbus shooting that killed 18-year-old Aaliyah Chan

Columbus, Ohio • November 5, 2026 • By Press Pass USA

Editorial illustration: a county courthouse at dusk, stone columns and steps covered in autumn leaves

Editorial illustration — Press Pass USA

Columbus police have charged a 16-year-old boy in the robbery and shooting on the city's Southwest Side that killed 18-year-old Aaliyah Chan and wounded two other people — and detectives are asking the public for help finding him.

Jaycier Armstrong, 16, has been charged with delinquency murder, aggravated robbery and felonious assault in connection with the shooting, Columbus police said Thursday. The Dispatch does not normally identify juvenile suspects before their cases are transferred to adult court, but named Armstrong because detectives are asking the community's help in locating him.

The shooting happened at around 7:45 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30, at a condominium in the 1000 block of Hardesty Place West, police said in a media release. Officers arriving on a report of gunfire found one person suffering from a gunshot wound, who told them a second person had also been shot and was in the basement of the condo.

Medics took the first victim to a local hospital in critical condition. A third victim transported themselves to a hospital and was later released after treatment. Chan, the second victim, was pronounced dead at the scene at 7:56 p.m., police said.

Detectives believe the shooting stemmed from an attempted robbery. Chan's father, Paul Chan, told The Columbus Dispatch that his daughter was at the condo while her boyfriend was getting a haircut when several suspects allegedly entered looking for the barber — and that she was not the intended target.

Chan was a cheerleader at Briggs High School and graduated this past spring, according to Columbus City Schools. She had plans to attend cosmetology school at the Ohio State School of Cosmetology, according to her LinkedIn page.

"We're just glad that we're getting closer to getting closure," Paul Chan said Thursday after police identified Armstrong as a suspect. "I am more than sad, more than depressed that one act destroyed multiple families." He said he wants Armstrong "miserable" and "behind bars."

Anyone who knows Armstrong's whereabouts is asked to contact the Columbus police Homicide Unit at 614-645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477. The charges are accusations; Armstrong has not been convicted.

Sources: The Columbus Dispatch, "16-year-old charged in fatal shooting of Aaliyah Chan on Columbus' SW Side" (Nov. 5, 2026, full text verified); The Columbus Dispatch, "Columbus City Schools graduate, 18, killed in Southwest Side shooting" (Nov. 2, 2026); WSYX/ABC 6, "18-year-old killed in southwest Columbus shooting is identified" (Nov. 1, 2026). Event date verified: charges announced Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026; shooting occurred Oct. 30, 2026.