Two balloons attached to a graduation yard sign floated in the breeze Wednesday morning at the scene of a fatal shooting in North Toledo.
Beyond the cheery sign to celebrate a Glass City Academy graduate, bullet holes marred the siding of the home in the 1100 block of Baker Street. Dark red blood spatters were visible on the home’s front porch and nearby sidewalks. At least three vehicles parked in the street also were struck by gunfire, and a pile of shattered glass remained where another car had evidently been struck.
Toledo police said a shooting early Wednesday morning left one person dead and three injured. Officers responded to multiple locations just before 1 a.m. after receiving ShotSpotter alerts at the locations in the 1100 block of Sherman Street, the 1000 and 1100 blocks of Baker Street, the 2100 block of Chestnut Street, the 1700 block of Elm Street, where more than 50 rounds were fired.
When police arrived at the home where neighbors say a graduation party turned into a crime scene, officers found Jeremiah Douglas, 18, of the 3400 block of Goddard Road, on the front porch of the residence and suffering from at least one gunshot wound. He was transported to Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center, where he died.
A second victim, Quddusiyyah Triplett, 18, was grazed by a bullet and treated at the hospital with non life-threatening injuries, police said. Two additional people were injured, but not by gunfire, a Toledo police spokesman said. Those two have not been identified.
Malinda Benarth, who lives across Baker street from the primary scene, said the street was clogged Tuesday night with cars and people for the graduation party. She said most of the people appeared young, in their late teens or early 20s. There were at least 75 party-goers, she estimated, but likely more.
“There was nothing, nothing out of the ordinary. No obnoxiousness, no loud music. Just a lot of people,” she said. “They were very respectful. You never heard any screaming. You barely heard the little bit of music they had going. When I lay down, I felt comfortable that they were there. I felt no insecurity or had any concern that anything would happen.”
That changed shortly before 1 a.m. What she initially thought were fireworks turned out to be gunshots. She then saw someone lying on the porch across the street.
Mike Larcom, a neighbor who lives at the corner of Baker and Elm streets, said he and his girlfriend were awakened by gunfire outside his home. They saw a man dressed in a bright orange shirt and gray shorts firing a silver handgun from the corner in the direction of the Baker Street home where the party was held.
Bullet holes in vehicles parked on the street suggested someone had also fired in the opposite direction down the street.
Ms. Benarth said the home in question has been a rental for a few years, but neighbors haven’t had any issues with its current residents. She and the homeowners of the surrounding properties on the block have known each other for years and are good friends, she said.
Police have not yet made any arrests in the case. Anyone with information should contact the Crime Stopper program at 419-255-1111.
Blade staff writer Allison Dunn contributed.
First Published June 10, 2020, 12:39 p.m.
