Shootings leave 1 dead, 6 injured over 2 days

The latest: Midday drive-by on Oakwood

Personnel from Toledo Fire and Rescue attend to one of the two people who were shot near Oakwood and Lawrence avenues in Toledo on Monday.

When the shooting starts, everyone ducks.

Neighbors watched Monday afternoon as Toledo police officers swept along the 900 block of Oakwood Avenue, marking evidence from a midday drive-by shooting that left two people wounded.

It was only the latest in a string of shootings in Toledo that left four others wounded and one dead since Saturday morning.

Injured in the drive-by were Lynn Williams of Lincoln Avenue, and Christopher Mason, Sr., of Norwood Avenue. Police described their injuries as “minor.”

None of the residents watching police work or their neighbors rushed to Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center wanted to give their names, fearing they would be branded as snitches.

One man who lives on Oakwood said he heard “several” shots and then watched a car speed down the street. One of the young men inside pointed his gun at the witness but did not shoot, the man said.

Because everyone ducks when shots are fired, witnesses’ descriptions of the shooting varied. Police were told to look for an Oldsmobile Alero, either gold, brown, or another dark color. Witnesses heard anywhere from two to 15 shots, and there were two, three, or maybe four people in the car.

No charges have been filed.

Wounded in weekend shootings were Brian Jackson, 36, of Ketcham Avenue; Steven Parks, Jr., 27, of Oakwood; Breon Shaffer, 19, of Blum Street; and Daniel Williams, 30, whose address was not available.

Marvin Smith, Jr., 24, was killed early Sunday in South Toledo by armed security guards at a bar where he allegedly had been involved in a dispute.

Smith, a member of 900, a Folks gang, was shot in the parking lot of Clam Diggers and Lighthouse Banquet Hall, 2605 Broadway. He was found, alive, between two parked cars and taken to the University of Toledo Medical Center, the former Medical College of Ohio, where he died several hours later.

Police said Smith was escorted out of the club after he and his friends got into an argument with another group. Smith went to his vehicle, got a gun, and shot Mr. Williams, an unarmed security guard who escorted him out of the club, twice.

He then allegedly fired into a large crowd and turned his gun on two armed security guards, who returned fire.

Smith was shot three times, once in a leg and twice in his abdomen, said Lucas County Deputy Coroner Dr. Cynthia Beisser, who performed an autopsy Monday.

It appears the security guards “were truly just defending their own lives and others,” Toledo police Sgt. Joe Heffernan said. “... All indications are that they acted in self-defense.”

Police will not release the guards’ names because they have received threats, the sergeant said.

Sergeant Heffernan said investigators have been in contact with the Lucas County Prosecutor’s Office and the case could be presented to a grand jury, as many self-defense cases are.

It’s not clear if any of the weekend shootings were related.

Mr. Jackson, a bouncer at Mirage Bar, 950 Buckingham St., denied entrance to three people at 1:45 a.m. Saturday, police said. One of the three pulled a gun and shot through a door, hitting Mr. Jackson in an arm and shoulder.

Police recovered a gun from behind the bar, though it did not appear to be the gun used in the shooting.

Mr. Parks was in bed with his new girlfriend, at a residence in the 1100 block of Country Creek Lane, Saturday morning when he as shot in the back. The woman’s ex-boyfriend, Rashad Gaines, 21, of 907 Paxton St. is charged with two counts of felonious assault. As of Monday evening, he had not been arrested.

Mr. Shaffer told police he was walking on Nebraska Avenue, near City Park Avenue, Saturday night when someone shot him in the back of his left foot.

Other shooting incidents were reported, though no one was injured.

Alex Geronimo is accused of hitting Nazim Nour, 27, with a gun, causing it to discharge, according to a police report. The Saturday morning incident in the 900 block of National Avenue left Mr. Geronimo, 27, of 1931 Glendale Ave. with a felonious assault charge. He was arraigned Monday in Toledo Municipal Court and ordered held in the Lucas County jail in lieu of $100,000 bond.

Shots were fired at 7:53 p.m. Saturday during a party at the new Metropolis night club, 2600 W. Sylvania Ave., police said.

Police later stopped a red Dodge Charger, described by a witness, at Douglas Road and I-475, and police found two guns inside. But the driver had a valid concealed-carry permit, and as of Monday no one in the car had been charged with anything.

A second vehicle reportedly connected to the shooting was found in a garage on Algonquin Parkway.

Contact Taylor Dungjen at tdungjen@theblade.com, or 419-724-6054, or on Twitter @taylordungjen.