A man has been arrested for allegedly shooting and killing a 45-year-old woman in Akron over the weekend.
Police were called to the 2200 block of 8th Street SW in Akron on August 12 around 1:45 a.m.
When they arrived, they found Veronica Bell lying on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds.
She was transported to Cleveland Clinic Akron General Medical Center, where she died three days later.
Police said that during the investigation, they identified the shooter as 40-year-old Dakinga York, who fled from the scene.
Investigators said there was allegedly an altercation inside a home moments before the shooting.
According to Lt. Michael Miller, York turned himself in Wednesday morning and was charged with murder.
Family members said they learned that Bell was trying to protect her friend, who got into a fight with her boyfriend inside the home.
"They got into an altercation. She tried to help them, and the next thing you know, she was shot," said the victim's daughter, Shadarah Bell.
Relatives said it appears after Bell intervened, she decided to leave the home, but moments after she walked out the front door, she was shot several times in the back.
"She was trying to diffuse a problem, and whatever your breaking point was, you should've just walked away," said Veronica Bell's sister, Angela Bell. "For a person to do something like this, you're sick. You're a coward."
Bell's family has set up a GoFundMe to pay for her funeral expenses - click here to donate.
