Akron police say a suspect has been arrested and charged in connection with a shooting that left a mother and child dead on Saturday night.
AKRON, Ohio — A suspect is in custody after a shooting in Akron that left a 12-year-old boy and his mother dead on Saturday night, police said.
The suspect, 28-year-old Brandon T. Casto, turned himself in to a sheriff’s office in southeast Ohio near the West Virginia border after attempting to flee, police said. He faces charges of aggravated murder and felonious assault.
In a press release Sunday morning, the Akron Police Department said officers were called to the area near 30 West Wilbeth Rd. after dispatchers received multiple 911 calls about a shooting, including from a 49-year-old woman who said she fled the scene after being shot at by the suspect.
Akron Police Lt. Michael Murphy told 3News officers were called to the scene at approximately 8:10 p.m. The officers found a vehicle that had crashed into the tree line on Hemlock Street just south of West Wilbeth Road and was partially on fire. A 12-year-old boy was found inside the car with a gunshot wound. The child was pronounced dead at the scene just after 8:30 p.m.
The driver of the crashed vehicle was the boy’s 47-year-old mother, police said. She was transported to an Akron hospital, where she later died from her gunshot wound injuries just before 9 p.m. Another one of her sons, a 2-year-old boy, was also inside the vehicle but was not injured. The 2-year-old was taken to a hospital as a precaution.
The Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified the deceased victims as Barberton residents Tania Mangual, 47, and Jericho L. Mangual, 12.
The 911 caller who fled the scene helped detectives identify the 28-year-old Casto as the suspect in the shooting. Detectives executed a search warrant at an apartment connected to Casto and recovered multiple guns, firearm accessories and a “large collection of ammunition,” police say.
According to police, Casto had contacted friends and indicated that he intended to flee Akron. Detectives worked with the Meigs County Sheriff’s Office in southeast Ohio near the West Virginia border, where Casto later turned himself in.
“This senseless act of violence left a mother and her 12-year-old son dead and has deeply impacted our community,” Akron Police Chief Brian Harding said in a statement. “Tragedies like this extend far beyond those directly involved and affect people throughout Akron. These types of calls are amongst the most difficult our officers face. I commend our officers for their coordinated response and dedication which contributed to quickly identifying the suspect.
“Our detectives worked quickly to develop leads, secure critical evidence, and coordinated with the Meigs County Sheriff’s Office to bring Casto into custody. We will work with the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office to ensure that we continue to hold people accountable for committing acts of violent crime in our community.”
Casto is in custody at the Southeast Regional Jail in Nelsonville. He is charged with two counts of aggravated murder and two counts of felonious assault.
The investigation into the fatal shooting remains ongoing.
Akron Mayor Shammas Malik released the following statement on the shooting:
“I am heartbroken by the tragic loss of a 47-year-old woman and her 12-year-old son in this devastating act of violence. My thoughts are with their loved ones during this unimaginable time, and I am grateful the infant present was not physically harmed. I want to thank our Akron Fire and Akron Police personnel for their swift work both on the scene and during the initial investigation in this incident. I am glad that the perpetrator of these murders has been arrested and charged. We owe it to the victims in this shooting, and to the victims in all violent incidents, to confront the evils of violence head on, and that is what we will continue to do.”
Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call the Akron Police Department Detective Bureau at 330-375-2490 or 330-375-2Tip.