Columbus teen watches robber shoot her dad to death

The Columbus Dispatch is reporting that a man’s three children, aged 15, 8 and 4, were witnesses to their father being shot in the back of the head in a brutal robbery outside their Columbus apartment.

From the story:

The family returned from a shopping trip about 9 p.m. Tuesday and parked beside their East Side apartment building. The gunman approached as Madero stepped from the van.

Madero’s wife ran into the building for help while the teenager, still inside the van with her 8-year-old sister and 4-year-old brother, locked the doors.

The Dispatch has chosen not to release the names of the three children or their mother for their protection.

Madero struggled with his attacker in the parking lot of the Woodland Meadows complex, where Madero, 40, and his family lived.

After the shot was fired, the gunman sped away in a car with two others inside, the teenager said. She opened the door and tried to help her father, who was lying on the ground.

"My dad was still alive." His mouth was moving, but words weren’t coming out, she said.

FLASHBACK: Reality Check for the Ohio Highway Patrol: Don't Get ''Borned''
In a Columbus Dispatch article about the expected progress of Ohio House Bill 12, Ohio Highway Patrol Capt. John Born reiterated the OHP's opposition to any bill that would allow citizens their right to self-defense in an automobile.

"We do not want a loaded firearm readily accessible to the driver of a car,'' said Born.

When presented with the fact that a firearm is useless in a pinch if it's locked up, Born responded: "If there's a dangerous situation and you're in your car, you can drive off.''