AKRON, Ohio — A 32-year-old woman was shot in Akron Saturday afternoon while driving along South Hawkins Avenue, according to Akron Police.
Before 4 p.m. that day, a husband and wife were driving southbound on the road in separate vehicles when they encountered a woman in a grey Mercedes driving recklessly, police said.
“They reported that there was a person that was driving in a gray Mercedes who was just really driving erratically, honking their horn in and out of traffic and, and really was causing like a road rage type of incident,” said Akron Police Lt. Michael Murphy.
According to the husband, the woman in the Mercedes began honking at her before he was able to exit his vehicle to see what the problem was, police said.
Meanwhile, the suspect, who authorities said they have identified along with the vehicle in question, called 911 and said she was acting in self-defense, so she shot at the couple because she says she feared for her safety.
“The man jumped out again on me, and I jumped out and pulled my weapon. The man started walking backwards like he was going to his car to do something, and I shot his window, his back window,” said the suspect.
As the situation kept escalating, the suspect said she shot at the man’s wife because she thought the woman was going to run her over; so, Murphy says no charges have been filed because of the conflicting narratives.
“Our detectives are working to come through evidence, speak with witnesses and analyze whether or not the suspect’s account of this incident is actually credible,” said Murphy.
The couple drove to their home on Moreley Avenue, where police and EMS responded around 3:59 p.m.
Murphy said the 32-year-old is expected to be OK, even though this has caused a lot of damage, both physically and emotionally, to everyone involved, including witnesses like John Cornely.
“I know that neighborhood. I've been to that neighborhood plenty of times and I felt like it was just like a ‘one off’, you know, one of these things where people just lose their temper, they lose their cool and then they do something stupid,” said Cornely.
At this time, Murphy said he’s not sure when those possible charges could be filed.
