An Akron family had to duck for cover after their home was caught in the middle of a rolling gun battle Thursday evening, leading to their home being riddled by more than a dozen gun shots. The family is now looking at moving out of the rental home just two months after moving in.
Within two hours Thursday evening, several homes and vehicles were hit by two separate drive-by shootings in the area of Raymond and Campbell Streets, in addition to 7th Avenue and Chittenden Street. According to Akron police, around 5:30 officers were dispatched to the area around Raymond St. after a resident reported hearing gunshots. The wayward gunfire shattered the man’s front window, a fish tank and lamp. Eleven shell casings were discovered, police said.
Two hours later, officers said a home on Chittenden St. was punctured by more than a dozen rounds. Ashley Lego, her fiancée Willie Davis and their children were just sitting down for dinner when the gunfire started.
“My fiancee said, ‘get down on the ground, there’s people out there shooting!’” Lego said. “We got down and after everything was said and done, our house had been shot 13 times. Our four-year-old son was there. As my fiancée was shielding him, my son looks over at my fiancée and asks him if he’s going to go fight the bad guys. He said, ‘buddy, you can’t find a bad guy with a gun.’”
In the moments after the shooting, officers reported seeing an unoccupied Dodge Minivan rolling near the intersection of Fuller St. and the eastbound exit ramp of I-77. Three males were running from the vehicle when officers and a police K9 captured all three. A 17-year-old male was arrested on weapons charges. A 15-year-old and 19-year-old male were also detained. Additional charges are pending.
Officers reported finding three handguns near the scene of the shooting, police said.
The gunfire pockmarked their home’s front siding and even shattered their living room window. Luckily, the home’s brick construction prevented any of the bullets from entering the home. Even still, the incident left the family rattled.
“It’s the perfect home for us and it upsets me so bad that it was so short-lived,” Lego said. “We can’t stay here. I can’t have my kids grow up over here. We have to move again. It’s just not fair.”
Not only are Lego and Davis planning on getting married this fall, they’re also expecting a baby girl around the same time. The family already has much of their disposable income tied up in those two life events. They’re the kind of family that enjoys being financially ahead, often paying their bills one month in advance, Lego said.
In order to move into their rental home, which met every single one of their needs, the family had to put down a hefty deposit, which included first month’s rent, last month’s rent, and a water bill deposit. All told, the family had to drop more than $2000 just to move in.
Little did they know, their first month and last month would come consecutively.
“I never wanted my kid to feel unsafe in his own home. Never. It hurts so bad,” Lego said. “It hurts that my four-year-old son is so scared to be here. This isn’t working with my pregnancy. I’ve had such a rough pregnancy. The day that this happened, I had just had tests done on my heart. It’s a lot of stress that I didn’t need.”
