AKRON, Ohio — Nearly two months after a mass shooting in Akron resulted in the death of one man and dozens of others injured, police are still searching for the individuals behind it.
Authorities have spent thousands of hours investigating, conducted more than 100 interviews and followed a slew of leads. Today, city leaders held a news conference to provide new details on the investigation, and I also spoke with a witness who is sharing her frightening story for the first time.
Tara Gibson felt like she was trapped in an action movie as the sound of gunfire surrounded her at a June 2 birthday party on Kelly Avenue in East Akron.
"It was the most scary time in my life because I did not know if I was gonna make it or not," Gibson said. She feels like it's a miracle she wasn't shot.
"Actually, somebody fell on top of me that was shot. The person to the right of me was shot. The person to the left of me was shot," she said.
A father — Lateris Cook — was shot and killed, and more than two dozen others were injured.
Akron Police Chief Brian Harding said detectives have worked more than 2,500 hours on the case but it remains unsolved so far. Police said after talking with a witness, it was confirmed the first shots came from a white SUV that was caught on camera.
Several other partygoers fired back. While there have been rumblings in the community about a possible suspect, authorities haven't named one.
"The case is extremely important to our entire community. If we had that information, we would have already moved on that. We've received a lot of leads. Some are very similar. I'm aware of some of the same chatter," Harding said.
City leaders also revealed at the news conference that two guns used in the shooting have been linked to another case outside of Akron, but Mayor Shammas Malik isn't ready to say where — yet.
"Every piece of evidence, every shell casing that we have has been tested to be traced. Every gun has been swabbed for DNA evidence. We're not releasing the results of that today," Malik said.
The mayor also stressed the importance of getting more officers on the streets. A police class of 44 is set to graduate next month, and the city has a list of 82 potential lateral transfers from officers who have experience in other departments.
"We are planning to offer a 7-week fast track academy in the fall for those lateral transfers," Malik said.
Following the mass shooting, a Gun Violence Response Fund was set up to help the victims and their families. More than $264,000 has been raised so far.
"Victim Assistance has distributed $46,298 to those victims and their families as they continue to deal with the impact of that night," said Tracy Carter, one of the organizers of the fund.
In the meantime, victims and witnesses like Gibson are hoping to feel relief when and if there's an arrest.
"It took me like a month-and-a-half to be able to ride down Kelly," Gibson said. "It's very scary that nobody has been caught, charged, implicated. It's scary."
Akron police have adjusted the number of people who were hurt during the mass shooting in East Akron multiple times since the terrifying incident unfolded on June 2.
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