AKRON, Ohio — A chaotic scene unfolded early Monday morning outside an Akron elementary school when shots rang out at a gathering, and multiple people were struck by gunfire and hit by cars.
According to Akron Police Lt. Michael Murphy, it happened just after 3 a.m. at Mason CLC, 700 E. Exchange St.
Murphy said a large group— between 100 and 150 people— gathered in the early morning hours. At some point, shots were fired, and five people were injured. Victim ages range from 14 to 21, Murphy said. Additionally, at least 10 people were struck by cars that were fleeing the barrage of bullets.
"Kids running, it was complete chaos," Murphy said. "This was terrible, but it could have been a much greater tragedy than what we're experiencing right now."
None of the shooting victims, or those hit by cars, sustained life-threatening injuries, Murphy said. However, specifics regarding the conditions of the victims are unknown.
No arrests have been made. Police are reviewing surveillance videos from both the school and the neighborhood in an effort to identify suspects or read license plates numbers from vehicles that were on the scene.
Akron Mayor Shammas Malik released a statement on Monday afternoon, commending the city for successfully celebrating Independence Day and the Bicentennial at the Heart of Akron Festival over the weekend before addressing what happened earlier this morning.
Early this morning, around 3 am, we saw a very different kind of scene with young people gathering in a large group with guns. In total, five people were shot and ten others sustained injuries as the crowd attempted to leave. Let me be clear, this behavior is completely unacceptable. As a city, we are working daily to tackle violence like this and to put a stop to gatherings of this nature.
Teenagers have no business being out partying at 3am. We need parents and our community to work with us to ensure that children are home when they need to be. Thankfully, no one was killed in last night's incident but there are too many times when lives have been lost due to senseless violence. My message to our teenagers is that no party is worth your life. You have so much to look forward to. Don't let one bad decision take away your future or someone else's. Our city government will continue to work to uplift our youth and help keep them safe.
The violence is also raising concerns about curfew in the city since so many kids were out at 3 a.m. Akron has an 11 p.m. curfew for those under the age of 18.
Georgeann Kalavity, who lives near the shooting scene, wonders if parents needs need to be held accountable.
"These kids have to have parents. How come they're out? What are the parents doing? Do they just let them go out? Are they unsupervised?" Kalavity said.
Dr. Stacey Hodoh, director of Strategic Communications for Akron Public Schools, issued the following statement regarding the shooting:
"We are deeply saddened by this incident and our thoughts are with all those affected. We are grateful for the swift response of the Akron Police Department and emergency action agencies, and are fully cooperating with their investigation. Our priority remains the safety and well-being of our students and the entire Akron community."
