Two shot in central Toledo

Toledo Police Department responded to a drive-by shooting with two people injured near Martin Luther King Elementary School on Forest Avenue.

Martin Luther King Academy was on lock down for about 15 minutes Wednesday after gunshots were heard at about 5 p.m. Wednesday, said Toledo Public Schools Spokesman Patty Mazur.

There were about 50 children inside the school at the time, she said.

The two men were shot — one in the thigh and one in the buttocks — in a drive-by near Forest and Palmwood avenues in the central city, said Toledo police Sgt. Bill Wauford. Police were having difficulty locating an exact crime scene, he said.

The men were both taken to Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center for injuries that were believed to be non-life threatening, he said. Both men are reported to be in their 20s; their names were not immediately available.

The men were reportedly walking along Forrest when a white Cadillac drove by and a person inside opened fire. It’s unknown how many shots were fired.

At about 5:30 p.m. Tamika Saunders, who was picking up her 5- and 7-year-old sons from the schools, said “it’s scary, very scary” knowing that two people were shot outside her sons’ school.

She said she doesn’t fear for her boys’ safety while they’re on their way to or from school — and not while they’re there — but turning the corner and seeing police cars, without knowing what’s going on, makes her uneasy.