'We are frustrated': APD still investigating June 2024 mass shooting that killed 1, hurt 28

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2 days ago

Almost exactly one year ago, on June 2, an unknown suspect opened fire on an East Akron birthday celebration, killing LaTeris Cook and wounding dozens of other people.
While the Akron Police Department has poured thousands of hours into an investigation, no arrests have been made in connection with the mass shooting.
Here are the latest updates on the mass shooting, including what problems detectives have run into while trying to identify the shooter.
Police responded to 911 calls shortly after midnight after reports of gunshots fired at a large gathering at Kelly and Eighth avenues.
About two hours before the shooting, Akron officers were sent to the party to disperse the crowd of more than 200 people. Some people left, but others came back around midnight shortly before the shooting.
When police returned to the scene, many people were still there, some of whom had been shot and needed to be transported to local hospitals. Dozens of shell casings and two guns were found on Kelly Avenue between Seventh and Eighth avenues.
A vehicle, later identified as a white SUV with dark-tinted windows, arrived at the party and the driver opened fire at people there, police later determined. Partygoers fired back at the vehicle, which police believed sped down Kelly Avenue after the shooting.
After nearly a year of investigation, the case has stagnated with no arrests, said the lead detective on the case, Akron Police Department's Edward Hornacek.
Investigators spent between 2,500 and 3,000 hours on the case. They repeatedly spoke to 28 of the victims, 19 subjects, 26 witnesses, issued two dozen search warrants and reviewed the 10 911 calls, cell phones and cell phone footage, Hornacek explained.
Much of that footage is pixelated, grainy or taken too far from the shooting, making it hard to identify individuals and vehicles, he said.
FLOCK cameras, which are used to identify vehicles throughout the city by running license plates, identified 59 vehicles that were at the party, but Hornacek said there were likely many more there. Police were also unable to identify the suspect vehicles, a Durango-like white SUV and a second unknown vehicle.
They 'extensively investigated' nine possible suspects and narrowed that down to seven, Hornacek said, but APD has been unable to pinpoint a shooter.
'We need that one piece of evidence,' he said. 'We have to have evidence to arrest someone. We can't just have an anonymous tip. We need hard evidence like a video or witness testimony.'
Hornacek was placed on special duty to review all evidence and re-interview everyone in the case. APD also worked with more than 10 other law enforcement entities ranging from prosecutors' offices to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said David Laughlin, Akron deputy police chief.
Well over 100 people worked on the case in the last year across these agencies, Laughlin explained.
'Everyone pulls together to help each other out,' he said.
Videos and new witness testimony would help, Hornacek and Laughlin said. There were a lot of cell phones at the party that captured aspects of the shooting.
That 'one piece of evidence' could be a video in someone's phone. It could identify one or more suspects or show a license plate.
Both Hornacek and Laughlin said just about everyone has cooperated with the investigation, but no one witnessed the shooting.
'They were dancing and not facing where the shooting came from, so that's why people didn't witness it,' Hornacek explained. 'There were fireworks going off earlier in the night, so some people thought it was fireworks.'
But one year later, the investigation has slowed.
'We are frustrated, just like the community,' Laughlin said. 'Picture yourself in a party, engaged with the people there. There's no expectation of gunfire. You are just worried about saving yourself. I don't think they are intentionally not sharing information.'
Investigators are still open to every avenue of investigation, including the possibilities that the shooting was gang-related or was connected to a fight at the party.
Laughlin and Hornacek encouraged anyone with information or videos to send tips anonymously to APD. If they aren't comfortable doing that, they should find someone they trust who can forward that information.
'We want justice for the family (of Cook). We want justice for this community,' Laughlin said.
Days after the shooting, the city of Akron, the Akron Community Foundation (ACF) and Victim Assistance Program (VAP) partnered to create the Gun Violence Response Fund (GVRF), a fund originally started to assist victims of the Kelly Avenue mass shooting. The fund has since been expanded to support basic life expenses of any Akron resident victimized by gun violence.
ACF was able to raise $315,000 to support the mass shooting victims during their fundraising efforts last year. This included $150,000 from the city of Akron and $25,000 each from the United Way of Summit and Medina County and ACF. To date, $165,000 of these funds have been distributed to VAP to help cover victims' costs.
'Our community is suffering': Victim Assistance offers help after Akron mass shooting
"The evolution of this fund was a textbook example of what could happen when government, philanthropy, nonprofits and the community come together for a specific purpose," said John Garofalo, vice president of Community Investments for ACF.
Thirty-six individuals have received assistance from the GVRF, 23 of whom were direct victims of the Kelly Avenue mass shooting, Rebecca Cool, VAP's director of services, said. So far, VAP has distributed $114,000 to gun violence victims.
The majority of the funds have been used to support transportation needs like car payments that allow gun violence victims to continue going to work or attend important medical or behavioral health appointments.
Other uses for these funds include housing needs — including rent and mortgage payments — and utility payments.
This financial assistance is paid directly to vendors, meaning no cash assistance is provided directly to the victim.
"These funds are approved as a last resort, meaning that there is no other local resource that exists, or the victim is eligible for, to meet that need," Cool said.
The funds are intended for immediate support. While 14 of the June 2 mass shooting victims applied for victim compensation assistance through the Ohio Attorney General's Office, they were able to utilize the GVRF for any financial needs while waiting for these additional funds.
Tracy Carter, Summa Health's system director of government affairs and health policy and co-chair of the Gun Violence Response Fund Advisory Committee, also praised the community's collaborative spirit.
"We are blessed to live and work in a community where people don't mind pulling their resources together to help others in need," Carter said.
To donate to the fund, visit www.akroncf.org/GunViolenceResponseFund.
Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at [e-mail], or on Twitter @athompsonABJ. Bryce Buyakie covers courts and public safety for the Beacon Journal. He can be reached by email at [e-mail] or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @bryce_buyakie.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron mass shooting still under investigation a year later