AKRON, Ohio — Akron police are looking for leads after a 15-year-old boy was shot over the weekend in the Kenmore neighborhood.
The incident unfolded around 3:50 a.m. Saturday near the intersection of Weisner Avenue and 28th Street. According to Captain David Laughlin, the teen was walking when at least one shot was fired from a dark-colored car, striking the victim in the chest.
Laughlin said it's not clear why the victim was out so late, but he ran to his nearby home after he was shot and woke up his mother. She then drove him to Akron Children's Hospital.
As of Monday afternoon, he was receiving treatment at the hospital, but his condition wasn't available, police said.
"I have children myself and it kind of stings a little bit more when it's young people in the community victimized like this just walking down the street," Laughlin said.
Hospital police reported the shooting to Akron police.
"Mom states that he woke up her up in the middle of the night and said he was shot," the hospital dispatcher said in a recorded call.
Laughlin said they have very little to go since the victim wasn't able to get a description of the car or what the shooter looked like.
"We just start from ground zero knocking on doors, checking for video, talking to the victim, friends, families and just start a grassroots investigation," Laughlin said.
Chris Anders, who lives on W. Waterloo Road, is disturbed by the shooting a few blocks from his home, but added he's not surprised.
"It's pretty concerning. It seems like the violence, the gun violence with these younger kids, is just escalating. They'd rather shoot you than fight, and if you do fight them, they come back and shoot you anyways," Anders said.
Violence has been an ongoing concern in Akron with 33 murders in 2022, most of them a result of gunfire.
As the teen continues to recover from the shooting, both police and neighborhood residents hope for justice.
"Our youth deserve to be able to be adults like us, not to be victims of gun violence," Laughlin said.
Anyone with information on the crime should contact Summit County Crimestoppers at 330-434-COPS.
