Police said armed individuals showed up at a teenager’s birthday party in Ohio, opening fire and killing an 8-year-old child.
The incident took place at 11:48 p.m. on Friday in Akron at the home of a 62-year-old later identified as Willie Walker. He was holding the party for his 15-year-old grandson, he told the Akron Beacon Journal.
“All hell broke out,” Walker told the Akron Beacon Journal. “I don’t know what the hell happened.”
Police in Akron identified the victim has 8-year-old Mikayla Pickett. Meanwhile, police spokesman Michael Miller told Fox News that no arrests were made, and a motive in the case isn’t clear.
Walker said that he didn’t know the child who was shot and killed.
“I don’t know know how many shells they took,” Walker told the news outlet. “A lot of them.”
He said three to four individuals with guns showed up and began shooting.
Police in Akron confirmed there was a large gathering of people and teens at Walker’s home when the shooting unfolded, the Akron Beacon Journal reported.
The police department is now pleading with the community to identify the perpetrators.
“You don’t have to be impacted directly by the violence to care about what happened,” Miller told FOX8 in Cleveland.
“You’re at a loss for words when people like that are impacted, families of victims that young are impacted,” Miller said of this investigation. “We’ve seen an uptick with violent crime involving children.”
Those with information about the incident can call the Akron Police Department Detective Bureau at (330) 375-2490 or (330) 375-2TIP. You can also call Summit County Crimestoppers at (330) 434-COPS.
