13-year-old girl shot twice following Cleveland Cavaliers parade
One suspect has been taken into custody
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Your support makes all the difference.A 15-year-old boy was taken into custody on Wednesday in connection to a shooting that left one 13-year-old victim injured with two gunshot wounds to the leg.
The shooting came nearly ten minutes after LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers commenced their NBA Championship parade and rally.
Cleveland Police first announced that two females were shot in the incident and later clarified that only one victim was shot. Minutes after James finished a speech claiming that the city of Cleveland “must no longer be a city described by its shortcomings.” As fans poured out of the pavilion, shots rang out on Ontario and Euclid Avenue causing thousands of terrified people to flee and take cover.
Kimmy Morelli, a 21-year-old fashion design student at Kent State University, drove an hour to attend the daylong celebration and was caught in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. She says that a stampede of people were running frantically and screaming “shooter” as they fled the area. Dozens of police officers could be seen running toward the direction of the gunshots.
“My phone was dead and I lost everyone I was with and was literally taking cover behind the bar of the JACK Casino,” Morelli told The Independent. “Hundreds of people were crying and running in every direction because no one knew what the fuck we were running from.”
There were also reports of gunfire from inside the JACK Casino and several restuarants in the area that police determined unfounded. SWAT teams searched nearby restuarants while hundreds of patrons took cover in each venue.
Matt Shivlet, a 31-year-old chef who traveled an hour from Wooster, was standing near Tower City when the shots were fired.
“We heard the shots and everyone started running, and screaming, there was so much panic,” Shivlet said. “I don't know why anyone would ever open fire on someone, especially on a joyous day like this.”
More than 40 children were separated from their families, and according to Cleveland PD, all of the kids were reunited with their loved ones.
Police shared the absolutely touching, heartwarming image above after the rounded up the children and before their parents collected them from the city police department.
The investigation is ongoing, WKYC reports, and police are currently searching for a second suspect.