Akron toddler fatally shot

A shooting in Akron killed a 20-month-old toddler and left his grandmother and another adult wounded.

Bicycles, basketballs and a blue toy truck lined the sidewalk Monday near the home where the shooting occurred, and neighbors are trying to understand what they call a senseless act of violence.

“This is awful,” said Kim Foster, a neighbor living down the road. “I think with how bad a rap the east side gets, everybody forgets families live here. Children live here.”

Akron police responded to a home in the 1200 block of 5th Avenue about 9:30 p.m. Sunday. They said two people had shot at a man and woman as they were in the driveway getting out of a car.

The boy, identified as Tyree Halsell, also was shot and later died at the hospital. Officials and others said he is the son of Shanticka Johnson and Tyree Halsell.

The man, 48, and woman, 47, were taken to the hospital with wounds that were not life-threatening, according to police.

More than 10 gunshots also struck the home, and more rounds struck a neighbor's house.

Police released a photo of a newer black or dark-colored Dodge Ram pickup truck that the gunmen might have fled in.

Sheka Davis, a family friend, said while visiting the home on Monday that the wounded woman is the boy’s grandmother.

“He was happy, smiley, full of joy,” Davis said. “Just running around being a kid.”

The boy’s aunt, Brionna Johnson, said she was near the driveway when the shooting happened. She heard several shots and ran into a neighbor’s backyard.

Tim Anderson, a friend of the boy’s father, runs the nonprofit Fallen Fathers Foundation, which works to combat gun violence by helping children and their parents.

“We need more people who are leaders to step up and become active,” he said.