Police said the teenagers are recovering after multiple shots were fired as a crowd of juveniles gathered to watch a fight.
AKRON, Ohio — Two 15-year-old boys are recovering and expected to survive after they were shot near an Akron community center where a large group of juveniles had gathered to watch a fight, police said.
The shooting happened shortly before 7 p.m. Sept. 17 in the 900 block of Hartford Avenue near the Lawton Street Community Center. Akron police said officers responding to reports of gunfire found both teenagers wounded and provided medical assistance until paramedics arrived. The boys were taken to Akron Children’s Hospital with injuries initially believed to be non-life-threatening.
Akron police Lt. Michael Murphy said Sept. 19 that both teenagers were recovering and expected to survive. Authorities have not publicly identified either boy because they are minors. Police also had not announced any arrests or publicly identified a suspected shooter as of the latest update.
According to the Police Department’s preliminary investigation, a large group of juveniles gathered near the Lawton Street Community Center to watch a fight. Police said the fight later moved toward Hartford Avenue and Little Street. Multiple gunshots were then fired, sending members of the crowd running from the area.
A written police account said one teenager was struck in the chest and the other in the upper left leg. Investigators have not said whether either wounded boy was involved in the fight, had gone to watch it or was otherwise connected to the dispute that brought the crowd together. Police also have not established publicly whether the teenagers were specifically targeted.
Investigators were still working to determine who fired the shots and how many people may have been involved. Cleveland 19 reported that preliminary information suggested as many as two people may have fired into the crowd, but police had not identified a shooter. Murphy said investigators did not have information indicating that the two wounded teenagers knew guns would be involved.
The size of the gathering also complicated the investigation. Police said many people scattered after the gunfire, leaving detectives to identify potential witnesses and determine what they saw. Crime scene personnel searched the area for evidence while detectives began interviewing people who remained or were later located.
Murphy said shortly after the shooting that investigators were in the early stages of their work and had no suspects or arrests. The department’s JAM Unit and Crime Scene Unit were among those involved in the investigation, according to reports based on police information. Body-camera footage described by local media showed officers using flashlights and evidence markers while searching the area after the shooting.
Police have released limited information about what caused the original fight or why gunfire followed. No suspect description has been made public, and authorities have not announced a suspected motive. Investigators also have not said whether any firearm was recovered from the scene.
The Sept. 19 update from Murphy provided the clearest new information about the victims, confirming that both teenagers were recovering and expected to survive. Police said there were no other major developments to announce that morning. The investigation remained active as detectives continued trying to identify whoever fired the shots.
Author note: Last updated September 20, 2026.