Four people are dead after a violent holiday weekend in Toledo, three by homicide, and one by car crash.
Independence Day weekend brought forth a slew of violence across the country, from a parade mass shooting in a Chicago suburb that left at least seven dead, to Toledo’s trio of homicides. Additionally, the Toledo Police Department is investigating three aggravated robberies — at least two of which appear to be connected, according to police.
“The issue is that violence is everywhere,” Toledo City Councilman Theresa Morris said. “I mean, look at the parade in Highland Park; there were some issues in Philadelphia… Unfortunately, these kinds of events just keep going up, certainly where there are people that gather. Unfortunately, these are the times that we’re living in.”
The weekend also saw seven other people shot and six shootings into buildings or vehicles all across the city, as well as almost 1,000 calls to the Toledo Fire and Rescue Department.
“What we really need is commonsense gun safety laws, like universal background checks, to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and people who shouldn’t have them,” Toledo City Councilman Michele Grim said. “We need these bigger solutions.”
Three fatal shootings
The first of three homicides took place Saturday night in central Toledo, when police found Isaac Carpenter, 21, suffering from a gunshot wound in a vehicle on Miller Street, just north of Nebraska Avenue.
Mr. Carpenter was taken to Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center, where he later died from his injuries. Police determined that the shooting took place in the 900 block of Vance Street.
Two days later, just before 8 p.m. Monday, police responded to City Park Avenue and Greene Street on a report of a person shot. They found Scott Gallagher, 58, suffering from at least one gunshot wound. The Lucas County coroner later ruled Mr. Gallagher’s death a homicide by a gunshot wound to the chest.
A neighbor of Mr. Gallagher’s, whose identity was not immediately known, was taken in for questioning, according to a police report.
Less than 12 hours later, at about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, police found Annise Purifie, 24, suffering from at least one gunshot wound in a vehicle on Central Avenue and Jeep Street. Purifie was transported to St. Vincent, where he too later died from his injuries.
Those three homicides brought the city’s 2022 total to 28.
“When we’re a society that really puts a lot of emphasis on guns, you have to understand what the outcome could be,” Ms. Morris said. “We’re looking at school shootings, we’re looking at churches and mosques and temples, we’re looking at parades, outdoor concert venues. When is enough going to be enough?”
Ms. Morris noted that the Toledo Police Department is holding recruitment events throughout the month to try and hire more new officers, with the end goals of getting more police out on the streets and improving emergency response times.
“The Toledo police and fire departments were prepared for the anticipated increase in activity over the holiday weekend,” said Brian Byrd, the city’s director of public safety. “It’s unfortunate that these incidents occurred at a time when families are coming together to celebrate.”
Multiple other shootings
On Sunday and Monday alone, six more shootings took place throughout the city, none resulting in fatalities as of Tuesday afternoon. At 10:45 p.m. Sunday, Anthony Gray, 37, of Holland walked into ProMedica Toledo Hospital with a gunshot wound to a leg.
Mr. Gray told police he was in the parking lot of a gas station in the 2900 block of Monroe Street when he heard fireworks. When he got back into his car, he realized he had been shot, and drove himself to the hospital immediately, according to police records.
Less than an hour later, police crews responded to the 900 block of Walnut Street, where they found a 26-year-old who had been shot at least once. The victim’s identity was not immediately known, and he was transported with life-threatening injuries to St. Vincent, police said.
The next three shootings occurred within three hours early Monday morning. First, police responded to a parking lot in the 5500 block of Ryewyck Court at 1:30 a.m., where they found one adult male and one 17-year-old male suffering from gunshot wounds that did not appear life-threatening, according to a police report. The victims’ identities were not immediately known.
Both victims were transported to hospitals, and police identified Avon Carter as a suspect.
An hour later, police received ShotSpotter alerts for the 1400 block of West Delaware Street. While crews were en route to the scene, they received a call about a person shot in the 1400 block of Goodale Street.
When police arrived, the gunfire was still going on. Two suspects fled into a residence in the same block, where there was a house party in progress. Police cleared the residence and detained several occupants.
While police were on scene at the Delaware Street house, Maliek Mitchell, 20, was dropped off at ProMedica Toledo Hospital with a gunshot wound from the same incident, according to a police report. Mr. Mitchell was in critical but stable condition as of Tuesday morning.
Multiple houses and vehicles on the street were struck in the gunfire, police said.
Finally, at 4 a.m. Monday in the 2100 block of Airline Street, police responded to a call of a person shot, but discovered two people on-scene who had both been shot. Moses Garcia, 35, was transported to the University of Toledo Medical Center, the former Medical Collège of Ohio Hospital, and Masimino Rodriquez, 28, was taken to Toledo Hospital. Police said both victims’ injuries did not appear life-threatening.
Residences shot at, businesses robbed
Additionally, the weekend saw one shooting into an occupied building, two shootings into residences, and three shootings into vehicles. None resulted in injuries or deaths. Most notably, crews responded to Kobe Bay, a restaurant in the unit block of Main Street, just before 3 a.m. Monday after hearing gunshots.
As police arrived, hundreds of people were fleeing the restaurant into the parking lot, according to a police report. Police found bullet holes inside the business and several vehicles, as well as bullet casings in the parking lot. Police later arrested Aaron Hudson in connection with the shooting.
Between midnight and 2 a.m. Sunday morning, three West Toledo businesses were robbed at gunpoint. All are within three miles of each other. The first was a 7-Eleven store in the 3700 block of Upton Avenue, where two unknown suspects entered the store wearing masks and brandishing firearms. The suspects demanded cash from the store clerks before fleeing.
Just half an hour later, in the 4500 block of Lewis Avenue, another 7-Eleven was robbed at gunpoint, also by two suspects. Less than an hour after that, Awesome Wings, a restaurant in the 1400 block of West Sylvania Avenue, was also robbed at gunpoint.
Toledo police said that the detective bureau is investigating the latter two incidents as related based on the suspects’ descriptions.
Man thrown in Maumee River
The robberies didn’t end there. Late Monday evening in downtown Toledo, Kelley Turner, 51, was out for a bike ride on the sidewalk behind Imagination Station when a group of three men assaulted him, stole his bike, and threw him in the Maumee River.
Police crews found Mr. Turner clinging to an old boat dock, and with the help of citizens in a pontoon boat, they pulled him out of the river with only minor injuries.
“We ask the community to partner with us to continue to keep Toledo safe,” Mr. Byrd said.
He asked that anyone with information call Crime Stoppers at 419-255-1111.
First Published July 5, 2022, 10:06 p.m.
