AKRON, Ohio — Chenell Crawford moved into what she calls her "dream home" three weeks ago on Dover Avenue in Akron, but what happened outside and inside the house Tuesday night felt like a nightmare.
About five minutes after Crawford, 28, got off her couch and walked into her bedroom, she heard startling sounds around 7:30 p.m.
"I heard pop, pop, pop, pop, pop," Crawford said. "My reaction was to duck, jump off my bed and duck. That's how close it sounded."
Crawford discovered a bullet had pierced her siding, whizzed through the living room and became lodged in a wall near her kitchen.
She counted her blessings that she wasn't hurt and that her 12-year-old son wasn't home at the time, but said she's still terrified.
"I'm still nervous. I got anxiety. I'm nervous. I can't sleep. I'm paranoid now," she said.
Police said the bullet that hit Crawford's house was the result of teens exchanging gunfire.
Akron's Gun Violence Reduction Team assisted with the investigation. After a search warrant was obtained, officers searched a home in the 1300 block of Dover Avenue and found two 17-year-old males hiding.
They were arrested and charged with carrying concealed weapons, discharge on or near prohibited premises, and discharging firearms. They were transported to the Summit County Juvenile Detention Center.
Akron has experienced a surge in gun violence over the summer. Most of the city's 18 homicides since June have involved guns.
In the most recent case, one-year-old Tyree Halsell was killed during a triple shooting on 5th Avenue. Detectives have leads, but no one has been charged.
"I know the world is scary, but make better decisions. It's scary. The guns are killing people," Crawford said.
Crawford said the scary incident makes her unsure about whether she wants to remain in Akron after living in Barberton for 11 years.
"Ain't no name on that bullet," she said. "It could have been me."
