Woman, 12-year-old son killed in Akron, Ohio shooting
A woman and her 12-year-old son were killed in a shooting near Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio, according to officials. A suspect later turned himself in.
The shooting happened at about 8:10 p.m. Saturday near 30 West Wilbeth Road, according to Akron police. Officers responding to multiple 911 calls found a vehicle that had crashed into a tree line on Hemlock Street, just south of West Wilbeth Road.
The shooting happened near Firestone Stadium, a baseball stadium on the south side of Akron.
Police said the vehicle was partially on fire when officers found a 12-year-old boy inside with a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver, a 47-year-old woman and the boy’s mother, had also been shot, police said. She was taken to Cleveland Clinic Akron General Medical Center, where she later died.
A 2-year-old boy, also her son, was inside the vehicle but was not injured. He was taken to Akron Children’s Hospital as a precaution.
Dispatchers also received a 911 call from a 49-year-old woman who said she had fled the scene after the suspect shot at her, police said. Officials later said she gave detectives information that helped identify the suspect as 28-year-old Brandon T. Casto.
Detectives from the Major Crimes Unit and Crime Scene Unit processed the scene and later carried out a search warrant at an apartment linked to the suspect. Police said they recovered multiple firearms, firearm accessories and a large collection of ammunition.
Police said detectives later learned Casto had contacted friends and indicated he might be leaving Akron. Akron detectives then coordinated with the Meigs County Sheriff’s Office, and Casto later turned himself in.
Casto is being held at the Southeast Regional Jail in Nelsonville, Ohio. He was arrested on two counts of aggravated murder and two counts of felonious assault.
“This senseless act of violence left a mother and her 12-year-old son dead and has deeply impacted our community,” Akron Police Chief Brian Harding said. “Tragedies like this extend far beyond those directly involved and affect people throughout Akron.”
The circumstances surrounding the shooting remain under investigation.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
