A 16-year-old girl was killed and a 19-year-old girl shot in the head in a double shooting Sunday morning on Archwood Avenue in Akron.
The younger girl was pronounced dead at the scene, while the older girl was taken to Akron General Medical Center.
Other people in the home in the 200 block of Archwood identified the shooter, and Akron police put out a description of the man and his vehicle to neighboring police departments. Wadsworth police spotted the man’s car about 5 a.m. in the parking lot of Legacy Inn, 810 High St. The Medina County SWAT team forced entry and arrested the man without incident, according to a news release from the Wadsworth Police Department.
David A. Stoddard, 24, of 14th Street in Barberton, has been charged with aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder and felonious assault. He is being held at the Summit County Jail.
Akron Police Lt. Rick Edwards said detectives are still trying to determine a motive for the shooting. He said Stoddard knew the two teens.
“It’s really sad,” he said.
This was Akron’s first homicide of the year. The city had 25 homicides in 2012, 11 that remain unsolved.
Police and Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office investigators aren’t releasing the identity of either victim, pending an autopsy today of the 16-year-old.
Police responded to a call about a shooting at the Archwood home about 4 a.m. They found the two teens with gunshot wounds to their heads. The shooter entered the home through a back sliding glass door, Edwards said.
The 19-year-old is from Norton. Her condition wasn’t available Sunday night. Police didn’t have an address for the 16-year-old as of Sunday night, Edwards said.
A Wadsworth police officer spotted Stoddard’s vehicle in the hotel parking lot about 5 a.m. Wadsworth police officers and Medina County Sheriff’s deputies watched his hotel room until the Medina County SWAT team arrived. The SWAT team entered Stoddard’s room and arrested him about 8:20 a.m., according to the Wadsworth police press release.
Wadsworth police notified Akron detectives, who took Stoddard into custody.
Wadsworth police supervisors weren’t available for comment Sunday evening.
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705 or swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter: @swarsmith.
