Organizer determined to bring back Juneteenth event after teen shot at Akron park
Akron police reported three shootings over the weekend, including one that disrupted a popular Juneteenth celebration Saturday at a West Akron park.
On Saturday, a 15-year-old was shot at Stoner Street and Orlando Avenue during a Juneteenth celebration at Stoner Hawkins Community Park. The teen was taken to Akron Children’s Hospital. His injuries were not considered life-threatening, police said.
Juneteenth coordinator and community activist Fela Sutton said Monday in a Facebook message that reports about the shooting occurring in the park were inaccurate and that the incident took place in the street.
Sutton said she was attempting to meet with police Monday and Tuesday about what she called a lack of police presence at the event at the time of the shooting.
Akron Police Department Lt. Michael Miller said Tuesday that some officers were able to attend a parade connected to the event, but police were too short-handed to cover the celebration itself.
"Due to staffing issues, there were no officers available to provide security," Miller said. "They were not there initially to provide security at the festival."
Miller said the department is working to bring on new officers — with more than 30 now in the police academy — and is actively recruiting more. In fact, the city is offering a $2,000 signing bonus and full pay during the six-month training academy.
Sutton said 40 vendors and about 400 people were at the event before the shooting took place.
One of those vendors posted on Facebook that he was setting up for a gig when he packed up and left at the sound of gunshots. A person attending the event posted that people began running and took cover when the incident occurred.
Sutton posted on Facebook that she is resolved to hold the event next year.
Recent shootings in Akron
In the most recent incident, a 41-year-old man was shot Sunday in the 800 block of Brown Street, about a quarter-mile south of InfoCision Stadium on the University of Akron campus.
Police said he was walking with a friend when they encountered a man in his 30s riding a dirt bike. After speaking with the two men, the man on the bike shot the victim and fled on his bike.
Police gave first aid to the victim until emergency medical services arrived. He was taken to Summa Akron City Hospital.
On Friday, a 27-year-old man was shot multiple times while outside a home in the 700 block of Corice Street. When officers arrived about 3 p.m., they applied a tourniquet and he was taken to a local hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.
During the exchange of gunfire, the house was hit several times, but no additional injuries were reported. Police said more than a dozen shell casings were found at the scene.
"The investigation is ongoing as detectives try to determine the exact circumstances surrounding this senseless incident and identify the person or persons responsible," Akron police said in a statement Sunday.
The three shootings this weekend follow two shootings June 12, in which a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old were injured at two different locations in Akron.
Leave a message for Alan Ashworth at 330-996-3859 or email him at aashworth@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @newsalanbeaconj.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 3 shootings in Akron; 1 during Juneteenth event at park
