A North Toledo woman clenched her fist Monday afternoon, as if she could still feel the tight grasp of the critically wounded boy she and her son held in their arms following a shooting Friday.
“He never lost his grip,” Tosha Woods said. “He was fighting, just holding on.”
That 14-year-old boy is still fighting for his life, though his younger brother lost his.
Nathan Sumner, 11, died Sunday after he and the elder child were shot while playing basketball outside their home Friday evening.
“When I run over there, I just see the oldest one laying on the ground and the other baby,” Ms. Woods said. “I was too scared to go to the other baby because he wasn’t moving.”
Police have not released the identity of the older victim, but neighbors and others said his name is Miguel Sumner.
Toledo police responded about 8:10 p.m. Friday after a ShotSpotter alert detected 14 shots fired in the 2700 block of Elm Street — near Elm and Austin streets.
When they arrived, they found the two juveniles in the 300 block of Austin suffering from life-threatening gunshot wounds. Both were transported to Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center where the younger child died two days later.
Dr. Diane Scala-Barnett, Lucas County coroner, said later Monday an autopsy determined Nathan Sumner suffered through-and-through gunshot wounds to the head and to the right thigh.
A Toledo police spokesman said Monday afternoon he had no further details available about the circumstances of the shooting, whether investigators have any suspects, or if any witnesses are cooperating. He said the older victim remained in critical condition as of investigators’ last update.
An occupied vehicle was also struck during the incident, but no injuries were reported, police said.
A spokesman for Toledo Public Schools confirmed both boys attended Spring Elementary School a few blocks east of the incident. Nathan was in sixth grade; Miguel is in eighth. Counselors were available at the school Monday.
The Sumner youth’s death marks the 45th homicide in Toledo this year, which remains on track to outpace a record set just last year with 61 homicides in the city.
Ignazio Messina, city spokesman, said city leaders expect to announce during the Toledo City Council meeting Thursday the hiring of four people — three violence interrupters and an outreach specialist — for Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz’s gun violence reduction initiative. The initiative, announced in 2020, aims to approach gun violence as a public health crisis.
Violence interrupters will engage directly with at-risk individuals in productive ways and work to proactively de-escalate tensions. The outreach specialist will work with violence interrupters, as well as connect with community organizations and perform administrative tasks.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stopper at 419-255-1111.
Blade staff writer Allison Dunn contributed to this story.
First Published August 23, 2021, 2:53 p.m.
