AKRON, OH – At approximately 2:43 this morning, patrol officers responded to multiple 911 calls about a male with a gun at a residence in the 500 block of Ritchie Avenue. According to the caller, a male inside the house had been screaming and pointing a gun at the occupants of the home.
When officers arrived on the scene, they could hear yelling coming from inside the house. Moments later, two occupants of the home exited, and officers learned that there was at least one additional person inside with the suspect.
Officers stood outside the side door and gave the suspect numerous verbal commands to drop the gun he was holding. The suspect refused these commands and appeared at the top of the stairs brandishing the gun. Two officers discharged their firearms and then the suspect retreated into the residence. It was not initially clear if the suspect or the other individual was struck or injured.
Due to the uncertainty and ongoing threat posed by the suspect, officers established a perimeter. The Akron SWAT Team was mobilized and responded to the scene. Once SWAT arrived, they immediately began trying to establish communication with the occupants of the residence. Efforts to make contact with the occupants inside the house were not successful.
At that point, the SWAT Team entered the home and discovered two male subjects, 21 and 38-years-old, in the living room deceased.
Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct autopsies. The decedents’ names are being withheld pending positive identification and family notification.
The two officers involved in this incident have just over two years of experience with the Akron Police Department. Per department policy, both officers were immediately placed on paid administrative leave pending the results of an investigation.
The ongoing investigation will be conducted by members of the APD Major Crimes Unit, assisted by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations. At the completion of the investigation, the case will be turned over to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office for review before being submitted to the Summit County Grand Jury for evaluation.
A separate internal investigation will be conducted by the APD Office of Professional Standards and Accountability. The results of the internal investigation will be submitted to the police chief and the City of Akron Police Auditor for review.
The incident remains under investigation