A 15-year-old boy is dead after an accidental shooting-suicide in Akron, officials confirmed. A 14-year-old boy was initially reported dead by police, but police sent an update Thursday morning confirming the teen is still alive at the hospital.
Akron Police are investigating the shooting that happened around 7 p.m. Wednesday on Grand Avenue.
According to police, several teens, including a 15-year-old boy and a 14-year-old boy were in the basement of a home.
Witnesses told police the 15-year-old boy pulled out a handgun and accidentally shot the 14-year-old boy in the head. The 15-year-old then panicked and turned the gun on himself.
Both teenagers were transported to the Akron General Hospital, where the 15-year-old boy was pronounced dead. The 14-year-old boy was initially reported dead by Akron police in a news release sent at 11:17 p.m. Wednesday.
On Thursday morning, News 5 confirmed through the Summit County Medical Examiner's Office that only the death of the 15-year-old had been reported.
At 11:17 a.m. Thursday, Akron police confirmed the 14-year-old boy was not killed in the shooting and was still alive in the hospital in critical condition.
"The Akron Police Department takes pride in only furnishing accurate information," the updated release states. "Last night we received inaccurate information from multiple reliable sources that both teens had died at the hospital. The department would like to apologize to the victims' families. The department feels terrible for the families of the victims of this tragic event and our thoughts are with them during this difficult times."
On Thursday, Akron Public Schools released the following statement:
"The Akron Public Schools family, including the Akron School Board, is in mourning over the violence that claimed one student's life and has left another's in the balance. We offer prayers for the loved ones of these children.
Our crisis teams are assisting at the schools for as long as is necessary to help our students and staff through this difficult time.
I have been in contact with Mayor Dan Horrigan, and we will continue to work on ways to curb youth violence and the senseless loss of life among our young people.”
