Wallace is in custody at the Franklin County Jail, and prosecutors are working to have him extradited to Clark County.
Officers responded to Club Hollywood, 925 E. Pleasant St., at 11:33 p.m. Thursday after receiving reports of a man shot, and they found Gibson with multiple gunshot wounds. He died of his injuries after medics attempted life-saving measures.
“This is a tragic event, especially for the family, and our job is to provide as much relief as we can for some sort of justice for this family,” Byron said. “So, hopefully, that has started today.”
Melanie Henry, Gibson’s aunt, said the man adored his 3-year-old daughter, and he made her smile every time she saw him. Henry shared a statement from his mother, Tiffany Henry, who said that her son was a “fun-loving person” with a good heart whose smile would “reel you right in.”
Tiffany Henry said that her son loved to draw and play video games. She said he was a bit of a ladies man and the life of the party.
“He wasn’t an angel, but he wasn’t a monster,” his mother shared in her statement, which Melanie Henry said referred to past mistakes he had made that didn’t make him a bad person.
“Shyheim was loved by so many and will truly be missed,” Tiffany Henry shared in her statement.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Evidence and witness statements led police to Wallace, Byron said. He said police are still seeking assistance from people who were in and outside the bar on Thursday night who left before law enforcement arrived.
Wallace has a criminal history and is known to law enforcement in both Clark and Franklin counties, Byron said, but he declined to elaborate.
On Monday night, the bar experienced minimal damage to the back of a building in a suspected arson, with the fire believed to have been lit around 9:30 p.m., Byron said Tuesday. He said Wallace is not a suspect in the arson and while that investigation has made progress, police are not yet releasing details.
Since the bar opened in June, Springfield police have had 48 calls for service to the address. The calls range from assaults, fights and disorderly conduct to parking and traffic violations.
Byron said Tuesday that many of the issues are related to noise and traffic, and people hang out in a vacant lot across the street “that they shouldn’t be there.”
Before Gibson’s death, there were two calls related to shots being fired at the bar in September and October.
Owners posted on social media over the weekend they would keep the club closed for an indefinite period of time in light of the shooting death.
The shooting is the ninth homicide of the year in Springfield.
Springfield police were assisted by the U.S. Marshals, Reynoldsburg Division of Police, Columbus Division of Police, the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Intel Unit and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Byron said. He said the bar owner has continued to cooperate with police.
Melanie Henry said the family, which is close knit, had seen Gibson earlier that day for Thanksgiving dinner.
“He was a really good person, and he definitely didn’t deserve this,” Gibson’s aunt said. “It’s just a senseless act of violence, and it’s just too much.”
Visitation for Gibson is scheduled for Monday at the Greater Grace Temple from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. with a service immediately following. Robert C. Henry Funeral Home is handling arrangements.
Anyone with information regarding the shooting can call SPD at 937-324-7716.
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