A 21-year-old man from Maple Heights died after being shot in the head outside Zelma George Recreation Center Wednesday evening, according to Cleveland police.
The shooting happened at about 6:41 p.m. at the center, located at 3155 Martin Luther King Jr Dr. in the Woodland Hills neighborhood, police said. The man, identified by the medical examiner as Sarontay Williams, was taken to University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center where he died from his injuries.
A 15-year-old victim, Malik Booker, was treated for a gunshot wound to his leg and released from the hospital.
Witnesses say the shooting followed an argument between Booker's mother and another woman. They say two men with guns showed up and began firing.
Cleveland City Councilman Kenneth Johnson was inside the rec center hosting a meeting when he heard the shots.
"That's the most unsettling thing I've ever been through," said Johnson. "We cannot allow these gangsters to take over our community and that's what they're trying to do."
Johnson plans to meet with the mayor as early as Friday to discuss ways to increase security at the city's rec centers.
Already, off-duty police officers work the centers but those shifts are primarily limited to evenings.
Johnson says there was an officer inside the rec center Wednesday when the shooting occured in the parking lot.
He wants to see police stationed outside as well.
He's also hoping to speed-up the installation of security cameras outside rec centers. Council approved funding for the project in April.
