4-year-old girl and a man killed in a shooting in Akron, Ohio
By Aya Elamroussi and Michelle Watson, CNN
After a 4-year-old girl died following a shooting Friday night in Akron, Ohio, a 40-year-old man left critically injured has died at the hospital, according to an update from the Akron Police Department.
Akron has been reeling from protests over the fatal police shooting of a Black man nearly two weeks ago.
“There is a lot of heightened tension in the city right now,” Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan said during a news conference following Friday’s shooting.
The Summit County Medical Examiner office released the names of the two victims on Friday evening, identifying the man as Johnny L. Gaiter and the young girl as Journei Tolbert, both of whom are from Akron.
Around 9:15 p.m., police responded to a report of shots fired on Princeton Street, Akron Police Chief Steve Mylett said during the news conference. “This has been a very difficult week for Akron.”
Multiple officers arrived at a “chaotic scene” and found Tolbert and Gaiter severely injured by gunshots, according to a release from police.
Police said people were having a party in a parking lot nearby when one or more unknown suspects fired shots into the crowd.
“Detectives are working to determine the circumstances and motive surrounding the shooting,” the release said, adding no arrests have been made.
The deaths come days after protests erupted in the city over the killing of 25-year-old Jayland Walker, who suffered at least 60 gunshot wounds when eight officers fired on him. Police said Walker fired what appeared to be a gunshot out the window during the car pursuit and a gun was found in his vehicle after the shooting. But Walker was unarmed when he was killed.
Akron implemented several curfews following the release of police body camera footage which showed the shooting. The city also canceled its July Fourth fireworks celebration out of an abundance of caution.
The mayor, police chief and community leaders, who attended the news conference Friday night, implored residents to lower the tension in the city.
‘There’s a baby here that won’t see 5’
“We’re tired,” said Pastor Bradley Reeves of Restoration Community Church. “This has to stop. … There’s a baby here that won’t see 5,” Reeves said. “Not only does the community need to calm down, but the police need to calm down, too.
“I’m not going to ask one side to calm down if I’m not going to ask all to calm down,” the pastor said.
Reeves acknowledged the impact Walker’s killing has had on the community.
“We are still reeling from other major events that are happening, and I’m going to say Jayland Walker’s name,” he said. But it takes everybody to calm down to keep the community safe, Reeves added.
Akron officials have come under scrutiny following Walker’s killing on June 27.
“The police department has responsibilities that we need to address on our own,” Mylett said Friday night. “And I’m here to tell you as the chief of police, we’re going to. We’re moving in the direction that the people want.
“This is our community, we love this community. We love the people in this community,” the police chief said.
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CNN’s Polo Sandoval, Rebekah Riess, Amya Henry and Artemis Moshtaghian contributed to this report.
