CLEVELAND, Ohio – Twenty people were shot and three men were killed when the July 4 holiday ended violently in Cleveland, police said.
A 57-year-old man, a 50-year-old man and a 47-year-old man died in shootings that occurred between 8 p.m. Saturday and 5 a.m. Sunday in the city, police said. The other 17 shooting victims included an 8-year-old girl who was shot in the arm while sitting in the back seat of a car hit by gunshots.
The Cleveland Police Department reported at least 14 shootings during the nine-hour period, including a couple of triple shootings. The 8-year-old girl, who was conscious and speaking when she arrived at Rainbow Babies University Hospitals and Children’s Hospital, was among the four children under the age of 18 injured in overnight shootings.
Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, Police Chief Calvin Williams and Security Director Karrie Howard condemned the violence in a joint statement Sunday morning.
“Gun violence and violent crime are on the rise. This holiday weekend specifically, the city of Cleveland has seen a lot of shooting-related incidents and tragically, three people were killed. There is no excuse for this violent activity and the police are actively pursuing the perpetrators, “the statement said.
At least one of the fatal shootings occurred at a July 4 party, police said. Investigators said an argument broke out around 9:40 p.m. Saturday at a house on West 152nd Street, near Schuyler Avenue. A 23-year-old man pulled out a gun and opened fire, hitting 59 and 57-year-old men in the chest, police said. Ambulances brought the two injured to Fairview Hospital, where the 57-year-old man died.
A 57-year-old woman also suffered an injury after receiving an eye lash and was rushed to Fairview Hospital for treatment.
Homicide detectives arrested the 23-year-old man at the scene, police said. He has not yet been charged in the deadly shooting, according to court records.
The second murder occurred just before 11 p.m. Saturday on Nelson Avenue near Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Officers found a 47-year-old man on the sidewalk with a shot to the neck. He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
No arrests have been made in the case, police said. Investigators discovered that the man may have been involved in a fight before the shooting.
The third homicide occurred around 3 am Sunday near the intersection of East 106th Street and Shaker Boulevard. Investigators have not provided much information, but said a 50-year-old man sustained multiple gunshot wounds. An ambulance took him to university hospitals, where he died, police said.
Cleveland City Council member Blaine Griffin, whose Neighborhood 6 includes the neighborhood where the third murder occurred, said he is heartbroken by the shooting in the neighborhood and throughout the city. He said the wave of violence is especially difficult to manage, as Cleveland, like the rest of the United States, is still recovering from the coronavirus pandemic and nationwide protests over the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and elsewhere. of police brutality.
“It is one of the saddest things to see this happen,” Griffin said. “It really breaks your heart.”
Griffin has served on the city council since 2017, but previously spent 11 years working to improve neighborhood relations as executive director of the Cleveland Community Relations Board. He said city officials and the police department must work to address any underlying issues causing the shootings to prevent further violence.
“At some point we will have to get to the root causes of this [violence]. We are not going to be able to stop to get out of it, ”Griffin said.
Peace in the Hood co-founder Khalid Samad agreed, calling the violence and COVID-19 “two great threats to our survival.” Samad’s Cleveland, also known as the Coalition for a Better Life, works to reduce violence by pushing teens and young adults toward educational and job opportunities.
Samad said city officials, the police department, community organizations and residents should work together to prevent violence in neighborhoods. That involves addressing systemic problems that lead to violence and changing the psychology of those involved, he said.
“If you consider your own life, and take into account the people who remind you of yourself, you should stay away from violence,” Samad said.
The Cleveland Police Department also reported at least 11 shootings later Saturday and early Sunday:
8 pm saturday: A man sustained a gunshot wound to the arm on East 148th Street, near Elmhurst Avenue. Someone took him to the Cleveland Clinic for treatment.
9:30 pm Saturday: An 8-year-old girl was taken to Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in stable condition after being shot in the arm near the East 139th Street intersection on Harvard Avenue, police said. I was sitting in the back seat of a car when someone opened fire on the vehicle. No suspects have been identified, police said.
1 am Sunday: A 37-year-old man sustained a gunshot wound to the knee near the intersection of West 130th Street and Bellaire Road, police said. Someone took you to MetroHealth for treatment.
1 am Sunday: Someone took a 29-year-old man to Lutheran Hospital after he sustained gunshot wounds to the foot and shoulder in an unknown location.
2 am sunday: A 24-year-old man was shot in the leg near the intersection of West 65th Street and Denison Avenue. Someone took him to Fairview Hospital for treatment.
2 am sunday: Someone drove a 23-year-old man to MetroHealth after he was shot in the chest near the intersection of Madison Avenue and West 91st Street.
3 am sunday: A 30-year-old man was shot in the back and a 29-year-old man was shot in the thigh on Brookpark Road, near West 130th Street, police said. An ambulance brought the older man to MetroHealth, and someone took the younger man to MetroHealth.
3 am sunday: An ambulance brought a man to University Hospitals after suffering a gunshot wound to the thigh near the intersection of East 116th Street and Kinsman Avenue.
4 am Sunday: Someone took a 54-year-old woman to MetroHealth after she suffered a gunshot wound to the hip on East 139th Street, near Harvard Avenue.
5 am sunday: A 22-year-old woman was shot in the chest and leg, an 18-year-old woman was shot in the leg, and a 17-year-old girl was grazed in the chest on East 147th Street, near St. Clair Avenue. They all got to university hospitals by car.
5 am sunday: A 26-year-old man was shot in the biceps, a 17-year-old boy was shot in the shoulder and thigh, and a 15-year-old boy was shot in the arm near Fullerton Avenue and Fleet Avenue on the East Side . All three arrived at MetroHealth by car.
