CLEVELAND — Five months after their teenage son was killed, Josiah Gardner’s parents are still searching for answers—and justice—with no arrests made.
Josiah, 17, was one of Aiesha and Quennell Gardner’s three children—their middle child, full of life and personality.
“Josiah—he was a really bright kid. He was good at technology,” said Quennell.
“He was like, always just joking, always doing the, what do you call, like trolling,” said Aiesha.
But on Oct. 5, their lives changed forever. That night, Josiah was shot and killed near Gilmore Avenue and West 131st Street.
Cleveland Police say it happened around 8:45 p.m., when an unknown person approached a group and opened fire.
“The victim and possibly other individuals were in the area when an unknown individual made contact with them and fired shots,” said Freddy Diaz with the Cleveland Division of Police.
One of those bullets struck Josiah in the chest.
Since then, his parents say they’ve been left waiting for answers and accountability and reached out to me.
“I feel like they're not doing enough. I watch the news every day, where shootings and murders happen. They catch them like that, but now it happened to us; like, they're dragging their feet,” said Quennell.
“Through this entire process, the follow-up has not been what it should; it is me calling, saying, 'Hey, anything?' And I have been more than patient and letting the police do their job,” said Aiesha.
Police say the investigation is still ongoing.
“No arrests have been made at this time. However, this homicide is very active in terms of the investigation,” Diaz said.
He added that investigators understand the family’s pain and are working to identify those responsible.
“Our heart goes out to the family, because, again, it's not easy to have to bury someone that young, but our priority is to protect the integrity of the investigation, and we're committed to identifying the individual suspect or suspects,” said Diaz.
For Josiah’s parents, healing feels impossible while his killer remains free.
“You can be amongst this person and not even know. They can know who we are, and we don't know them. Sometimes we don't even feel safe in our home,” said Aiesha.
Now, they’re urging the community to come forward to help them find the person responsible.
“Somebody saw it. And I need our community, and I need somebody to speak up.” Aiesha said. “I would like to see this person apprehended and locked up for life. You took a life.”
Nadeen Abusada is a Cuyahoga County and immigration reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on Instagram NadeenAbusada or email her at Nadeen.Abusada@wews.com.
