Authorities in Akron, Ohio, are asking for the public’s help in identifying a gunman responsible for a shooting that left one man dead and 24 others injured during a mass street party early Sunday morning.
Akron Police Chief Brian Harding said at a press conference Sunday night that officers broke up a birthday party of about 200 people around 10 p.m. Saturday after complaints of street occupation had come in. The party eventually resumed, and the department received a call just after midnight reporting gunshots heard in the same area on Kelly Avenue in southeast Akron.
Harding said the violence that erupted consisted of drive-by shootings, with some partygoers returning fire.Investigators don’t yet know how many shooters were involved or what weapons were involved, but they seized two handguns and believe rifles were also used.
“There were spent shell casings scattered around the scene, most of which were handgun caliber bullets,” Harding said.
Police did not identify the person who died but said he was a 27-year-old man, adding that two other victims were in critical condition and that the injured ranged in age from 19 to 43, with most in their 30s.
Police said they received multiple 911 calls about the shooting and that many of the victims were taken to the hospital by private vehicles. Police have responded to multiple shootings in the area over the past few months.
No suspects or anyone of interest are in custody and police are appealing for witnesses to come forward – Harding said as many as 100 people saw what happened.
“We are pleading with local residents to come forward with anything they know about this horrific incident,” Harding said. “We are concerned about the possibility of retaliation and are taking steps to prevent that and we need the community’s cooperation.”
Mayor Shamas Malik said at a press conference that those involved in the shooting and those who retaliated would be brought to justice, and lamented the prevalence of violence as a means of resolving disputes.
“The level of violence in our community, and frankly communities across the country, is out of control. The availability of weapons, the carelessness with which some people use them,” Malik said. “What may have been a fistfight in the past has now turned into a deadly shooting like this. Those who perpetrate violence must be held accountable.”
Shooting occurs at hookah bar in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Police in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, have begun an investigation into a shooting that happened early Sunday morning at Ballers Hooker Lounge & Cigar Bar that left two people dead and seven injured. Investigators say several victims were taken on foot to a nearby hospital, with one remaining in critical condition, after the shooting, which happened just before 3 a.m. in the Penn Hills neighborhood east of Pittsburgh.
“Preliminary information indicates an altercation occurred inside the bar and multiple individuals fired shots,” Allegheny County Police said in a statement.
How many mass shootings will there be in 2024?
So far this year, there have been more than 180 mass shootings in the United States, defined as incidents in which at least four victims are shot and killed, excluding the shooter, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a low level so far this year compared to recent years.
In 2023, there were 655 mass shootings nationwide, compared with 644 in 2022 and 689 in 2021, according to the archive’s definition.
Contributed by: Akron Beacon Journal
