NewsLocal NewsCuyahoga County

Actions

Friends and family honor victims of deadly shooting at Rookies Sports Bar and Grill

Posted at 7:40 AM, Mar 17, 2021
and last updated 2021-03-17 07:40:51-04

PARMA, Ohio — Friends and family gathered Tuesday to honor the two men who were killed in a shooting outside Rookies Sports Bar and Grill in Parma Sunday.

One of the men killed was Sean Acierno, 29, who was walking through the parking lot of the bar when he was shot. He died as a result of his injuries, police said.

Timoteo “Tim” Cruz, 27, an off-duty Cuyahoga County Corrections Officer with a valid CCW permit, was working as a security guard for the bar. After Acierno was shot, Cruz returned fire at the shooter, striking him.

Police said the shooter gunned down Cruz and crawled into a getaway vehicle after being hit by a bullet fired by Cruz.

Cruz also died as a result of his injuries.

Parma police commended Cruz’s heroic actions in firing at and striking the shooter, saying he “most likely saved additional lives while giving up his own life as other bar patrons were still in the area or exiting the bar.”

Cruz’s father wants his son to be remembered as a hero.

"If that means his life needed to be taken to save the lives of the rest of the people in this establishment, he knew that this was his job. Please don’t be sorry for my son’s death. Be proud," his father told News 5 during the vigil.

Screen Shot 2021-03-17 at 7.21.00 AM.png
The father of Tim Cruz speaks at the vigil for his son.

Police arrested a 27-year-old man and his 30 year-old-brother in connection with the shooting. Both men are facing two counts of aggravated murder, police said.

RELATED: Man, security guard killed in shooting outside Rookies Sports Bar and Grill in Parma; 2 men arrested

Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.

You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.