3-year-old shot, killed inside vehicle on I-75

Police say they think vehicle was targeted by the shooters.

Police believe the Thanksgiving night shooting into a car on I-75 that left a 3-yearold dead wasn’t random.

Lt. Kevan Toney, spokesman with the Toledo Police Department, said officers are investigating whether the child’s father, who was driving the car, was targeted, or if it was a case of mistaken identity and the suspects fired upon the vehicle believing a different person to be inside.

“We don’t know if the suspects knew there were children in the car,” Toney said.

Police said the shooting happened on the I-75 just after 9 p.m. Anthony Barnes was driving the vehicle with three children northbound near Collingwood Boulevard when a vehicle pulled up and opened fire.

Malachi Barnes, 3, was sitting in the back seat of Barnes’ vehicle and was struck by the gunfire. He was transported to Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center, where he later died.

This is the city’s 39th homicide of the year, equaling the total number of homicides for 2017. Toney would not comment on the year’s homicide total so far, saying that the department is concentrating on solving Thursday night’s fatal shooting.

“We’re going to be investigating the murder of a 3-yearold,” he said.

No one is in custody. Anyone with information is asked to call the CrimeStopper program at 419-255-1111. Lieutenant Toney said anyone who knew about the shooting beforehand or heard about it afterward needs to know that because of that shooting, a child is dead.

“Now you know that a 3-year-old was killed,” he said. “That’s on your conscience if you don’t call the police and tell us what you know.”

A 10-year-old who was also in the car was cut from broken glass, Toney said. Anthony Barnes and the third child, a 2-year-old, were not injured. Toney said he believed Barnes is the father of all three children.