Teen gunned down in Cincinnati-area home invasion

11/18/2013

CINCINNATI  — A former standout high school athlete was fatally shot in an apparent home invasion outside Cincinnati over the weekend, and police said today they were seeking leads on multiple possible suspects.

Springfield Township police said robbery was the apparent motive Sunday morning when two or more people kicked in a back door at the family home of 19-year-old Vincent Turnage, who was a sprinter on the University of Akron track team last spring.

“They ordered everyone into a bedroom,” Lt. Brian Uhl said. “He (Turnage) was trying to get out ... as he fled, he was shot.”

Uhl said six people including Turnage and his girlfriend were in the home when the intruders forced their way in. He said the intruders indicated they were trying to find drugs and cash, according to witnesses.

“To the best we know of, nothing was taken during the offense,” Uhl said. “We are hoping some more information will come in about suspects.”

Turnage played football and ran track at Mt. Healthy High School. School officials said grief counselors were available today for students and others who knew Turnage.

He was on the University of Akron track roster last school year, but the university said today he isn’t enrolled there this year.

Akron athletics spokesman Paul Warner said Turnage finished second in the men’s 100-meter race in the Mid-American Conference outdoor track championships in May. Warner said he didn’t know why Turnage didn’t return to the university this fall.