Nov. 25 (UPI) — A 12-year-old boy was shot dead by a stray bullet and five teens were wounded in gunfire in Cleveland on Friday night.
The five boys were talking on the sidewalk on Cleveland’s east side when they were approached by three or four males with handguns around 7:30 p.m., Cleveland police spokeswoman Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said, as reported by Cleveland.com. They began firing at the group of young people, police said.
A nearby liquor store owner and his 12-year-old son went outside to investigate, WEWS reported. When they returned to the store, they saw the boy had been shot in the torso.
Abdel Latif Bashiti was pronounced dead at the scene and the unidentified father was unhurt, Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams said at a news conference Saturday morning, WOIO reported.
The teens were transported to University Hospital. One 16-year-old boy was shot in the head, two others, 16 and 14, were shot in the leg, a 14-year-old was hit in the groin and a 16-year-old in the torso.
The suspects, who were identified as wearing black or dark-colored hoodies, have not been located.
“There’s always a heavy police presence from the Fourth District in this area,” Williams said. “And of course, when these things happen, there is a concerted effort by all divisional resources to make sure we find out the people who did this and we get them off the streets.”
