'The wrong place at the wrong time': Ohio police charge 3 in shooting death of 18-year-old Na'Kia Crawford

AKRON, Ohio – The shooting death of an Ohio teenager appears to be a case of mistaken identity, according to police in Akron.

Police charged three people Thursday in the shooting death of 18-year-old Na'Kia Crawford, a case that had garnered national attention..

Deputy Chief Jesse Lesser said police think Crawford was accidentally targeted. He said nothing indicates she knew the suspects.

“Na’Kia Crawford was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Lesser said during a virtual news conference.

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Adarus Black, 17, has been charged with murder. Jaion Bivins, 18, has been charged with obstructing justice and tampering with evidence, and Janisha George, 24, is charged with obstructing justice.

Lesser said Bivins agreed to cooperate with police and plans to turn himself in. Lesser urged Black and George to follow his lead and arrange their surrender.

Nick Crawford, Na’Kia’s father, said he was glad to hear about the charges, though they won’t bring back his daughter.

“My daughter’s still not here,” he said. “I’m not happy in no kind of way. I’m glad someone will take responsibility for her murder.”

Crawford was shot multiple times about 1:25 p.m. Sunday as she was stopped at a traffic light after going to the bank with her grandmother. She was transported to Summa Akron City Hospital, where she later died. Her grandmother wasn’t injured.

Crawford’s family believed the teen may have been targeted because she was Black, with some witnesses saying the shooter was a white man.

Police, though, had said the race of the suspect wasn’t certain, especially because the shooter’s car windows were tinted and this likely obscured the view of bystanders. The incident report listed any identifying information about the suspect, including race, as “unknown.”

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The three people charged are all Black.

The shooting attracted widespread interest, with attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the family of George Floyd, the Black man who died after a white police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes in Minneapolis, agreeing to assist Crawford’s family.

NBA superstar LeBron James on Thursday called for "conviction and sentencing" in the case.

Crawford’s death also prompted protests and a vigil this week at the site of her shooting, with the teen’s family and other area residents calling for police to take action.

A “Black Lives Matter” message was painted with permanent paint in the area.

Lesser said detectives put “hundreds of man hours” into the case. He said the car used in the shooting, a black 2015 Chevrolet Camaro, was found in Cleveland. He said the car, which has “Weez” written on the hood, matches the images of the vehicle in the shooting that were captured on surveillance video.

Lesser credited the arrests on cooperation from the community and “good, solid police work.”

“Nothing will bring Na’Kia Crawford back, but I hope this will bring some small peace to the family and friends of Na’Kia Crawford,” he said.

Follow Stephanie Warsmith on Twitter: @swarsmithabj.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Na'Kia Crawford: Ohio police charge 3 in teen's shooting death