TOLEDO – City officials in Toledo provided an update Tuesday morning on the ongoing investigation into a shooting at the city’s annual Old West End Festival Saturday that injured 12 people — nine of them innocent bystanders.
Investigators said they have identified several persons of interest and have recovered two firearms believed to be connected to the shooting, insisting that they are continuing to make progress in the case, however no suspects have been taken into custody.
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“Our detectives are working every day to get answers,“ Toledo Police Chief Michael Troendle said at Tuesday’s press conference. ”We are not walking away from this case."
Troendle said investigators believe Saturday’s shooting stemmed from a dispute between two “rival groups” which ended in gunfire between two people. He identified the two shooting suspects as Black males between the ages of 18-24.
Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz also provided an update on the victims’ condition, saying that nine individuals have been discharged from the hospital and the three victims who remain hospitalized are in stable condition. Previously, at least two victims were in critical condition, according to police.
“Toledo’s heart is hurting, and the reason Toledo’s heart is hurting is because of what we lost,” Kapszukiewicz said. “There are a number of things that need to happen as a result of Saturday; a number of conversations that need to be had.”
Police were reportedly already in the area when the shooting occurred around 5:35 p.m. June 6, allowing them to respond to the scene quickly. However many city officials took time at Tuesday’s press briefing to thank the many community members in attendance at the festival who stepped up to support emergency personnel and assist victims.
Kapszukiewicz also suggested that the city reschedule the beloved West End festival, which is now in its 53rd year of celebrating the historic Toledo neighborhood.
“Gun violence does not just affect those that are shot or those that are shooting, they affect those families, they affect the whole community,” said Toledo City Council President Vanice Williams on Tuesday. “The Old West End is our community jewel and will forever be that. This does not define the Old West End or Toledo.”
Williams also reminded residents of the resources available to the community around gun violence, including planned debrief sessions, a gun buyback program and the city’s Healing and Compassion Fund (HCF) established by the mayor’s office and United Way of Greater Toledo to provide immediate, direct support to those affected by gun violence.
Information about that program can be found at unitedwaytoledo.org/hcf.