AKRON, Ohio — Akron police responded to the Spring Hill Apartments Thursday after multiple shots were fired by two groups of people in the parking lot.
Akron Police Captain Michael Miller told News 5 that multiple shooters were involved. He said a vehicle drove into the Spring Hill Apartments parking lot on Everton Drive, and that’s when multiple shots rang out between the two groups.
Miller doesn’t deem the shooting a drive-by, though. Police are unsure of the relationship between the shooters and victims.
More than a dozen shell casings were collected from the scene. Additionally, four firearms were found by officers when they searched the area, police said.
Thursday afternoon, Miller told us that two adults were injured due to gunfire, and a child was possibly hurt by broken glass. However, a news release from police on Friday morning stated that only an 18-year-old woman was grazed by a bullet, a non-life-threatening injury.
As of Friday morning, no arrests have been made.
'I gotta get out of here'
Ronieka Jones works in the leasing office in the compliance department and is also the Event Coordinator for the complex.
She said as soon as she heard gunfire, she checked the property’s surveillance cameras and saw people shooting into a crowd of residents.
“They’re just shooting, and we’re ducking in all the buildings. It had to have been three or four people. It was so many shots. It was boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. It sounded like they were shooting in a dumpster or an empty dumpster being dropped, so I know it was big guns,” Jones explained.
A woman who moved into Spring Hill Apartments about a month ago spoke with News 5 on camera but asked that her identity not be shared.
She recalled only standing a few yards away from where the shooting occurred.
“I was going to get my child and shots were fired. I started running because I got scared. I was having a panic attack,” she added. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, I gotta get out of here.’ My back was turned and I'm hoping I'm not going to be in the crossfire. I have babies I have to tend to. It has me in a turmoil.”
“It’s not safe. I just talked to my therapist. I was like I gotta get out of here,” said a resident.
Shootings in this area are not uncommon.
A resident of the apartment building next door showed us a bullet hole that went through her balcony wall into the living room within the last three years.
She said she plans to pack her bags and leave Akron as soon as possible.
“The violence needs to stop. It’s crazy. It’s getting worse and worse,” Jones said. “Now is time to pray. It is time to pray for the community as a whole. It’s time to stop the violence. It’s time to put the guns down. It is not worth it. It can’t be that serious. It’s not worth it, so please keep us in your prayers.”
