AKRON, Ohio — A man shot a woman before shooting himself in front of officers and later dying in the hospital during an attempted murder-suicide at a home on Cross Street in Akron Wednesday night, according to a spokesperson for the Akron Police Department.
Officers responded at around 8:15 p.m. Wednesday to a third-party call at a home in the 400 block of Cross Street for a domestic-related shooting, police said. When officers arrived, they attempted to communicate with a man who was near the back of the residence armed with a handgun.
Officers who made initial contact with the man tried various de-escalation techniques to defuse the situation, but moments later, he shot himself in the head in front of officers, according to Akron police. The man was taken to Cleveland Clinic Akron General Medical Center where he died.
Akron police said officers entered the home due to the “urgency of the circumstances.” A 30-year-old woman was found with an apparent gunshot wound to the head. The woman’s 2-year-old son was also found unharmed in the home.
Both were immediately removed from the home, according to police. The woman, who was conscious and breathing at the time, received immediate medical attention by EMS. She was transported to Summa Health Akron City Hospital in serious but stable condition.
Detectives learned that the man shot the woman during an argument and later called a relative to report the shooting.
The man who shot and killed himself was identified as the father of the 2-year-old child.
The toddler was placed in the custody of the Summit County Children’s Services.
A spokesperson for the Akron Police Department said none of the officers discharged their service weapons.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a national network of local crisis centers that provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Call 1-800-273-8255 if you are experiencing thoughts of suicide or mental distress.
