Cleveland Police Chief Encourages Public to Help Stop Violence
Over the course of four weeks, Columbus, Ohio has seen a steady rise in deaths including three children who were gunned down. Enough is enough, police officials are saying.
According to the Columbus Dispatch, 5-month-old Aavielle Wakefield was shot to death in a car with her mother; 5-year-old Ramon Burnett was killed in a crossfire while playing footbal; and 3-year-old Major Howard, riding in a car, was fatally wounded in a drive-by shooting.
"It's been hard to stomach," Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams said. "We've marched enough. People need to stop chanting and do something."
Williams, shaken and angry during a press conference on Friday, added that Prosecutor Tim McGinty is offering a $25,000 reward for any useful information.
So far, witnesses have said that more than a dozen shots were fired from a home or apartment building into a car carrying baby Wakefield, her mother and grandmother. She later died at the hospital. Her relatives were unharmed.
Prosecutor McGinty said during a news conference that the reward money is being offered for information regarding Wakefield, and a shooting that wounded a 10-year-old.
Two men, aged 18 and 19, have been indicted in the murder of Burnett. Police have also issued a warrant for a 22-year-old suspect in the murder of Howard.
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(Photo: AP Photo/Tony Dejak)