Editor's note:

This story was updated to include information from an Akron Police Department news release, along with portions of a statement from Akron Mayor Shammas Malik.

Akron police were involved in a fatal shooting Monday morning in the 300 block of Ira Avenue between Victory Street and Lake Shore Boulevard in the Summit Lake neighborhood. 

The situation began around 8:30 a.m., police said, when officers received a call about an alleged stolen gun and a stolen vehicle, later reported as a white Toyota Camry.

A police officer, whose jacket says he is a hostage negotiator
A police officer, whose jacket says he is a hostage negotiator, strings yellow tape near the site of a shooting involving Akron police on Ira Avenue in Summit Lake. (Doug Brown / Signal Akron)

Akron Police Sgt. Utomhin Okoh told 3News that when officers located the vehicle, there was an exchange of gunfire. Police said in a news release the driver of the alleged stolen vehicle fired several rounds at officers, who then returned fire, striking him at least one time.

Okoh said police performed CPR on the suspect before he was transported by an ambulance. The suspect died of his injuries.

Police said the driver was a male in his 30’s whose name is being “withheld pending positive identification and family notifications” according to a news release from Akron police. He was later identified as Marcus Leonard Smith, 39, from Cincinnati. 

Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation will handle investigation

A neighbor also told Signal Akron they heard gunshots — police yelled out for someone to put the gun down, then there was more gunfire. A third person said they heard gunfire exchanged from two distinctly different sources. 

Investigators from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) were on the scene, using metal detectors to look for shell casings across the street from the houses at 315 and 319 Ira Ave.

In an enlarged version of the image above, the white Toyota Camry involved in a fatal shooting of a suspect by Akron police on Ira Avenue is visible at center. (Doug Brown / Signal Akron)

Three officers were placed on paid administrative leave per Akron police’s departmental procedure. Their tenure with the police department ranges from nine years to 30 years of service. 

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation will conduct the investigation. When that is completed, the case will be submitted to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office for review before it is submitted to the Summit County Grand Jury for evaluation.

Akron’s Office of Professional Standards and Accountability will conduct a separate internal investigation. Their results will be provided to the police chief and Akron’s Independent Police Auditor.

Akron mayor issues statement

In a statement issued Tuesday afternoon, Akron Mayor Shammas Malik said the three officers who fired their weapons “responded to an incredibly dangerous situation, and I am deeply thankful that neither the officers nor bystanders were harmed by Mr. Smith’s actions.”

Malik said the city will release body-worn camera footage of the incident in the coming week, as required by the Akron City Charter.

“Today, my thoughts are with the officers who responded and the neighborhood residents who witnessed the interaction,” Malik said, “and my condolences are with Mr. Smith’s loved ones.”

(Editor’s note: 3News contributed to this reporting.)

Signal background

Government Reporter (he/him)
Doug Brown covers all things connected to the government in the city. He strives to hold elected officials and other powerful figures accountable to the community through easily digestible stories about complex issues. Prior to joining Signal Akron, Doug was a communications staffer at the ACLU of Oregon, news reporter for the Portland Mercury, staff writer for Cleveland Scene, and writer for Deadspin.com, among other roles. He has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Hiram College and a master’s degree in journalism from Kent State University.

Editor-in-Chief (she/her)
Zake has deep roots in Northeast Ohio journalism. She was the managing editor for multimedia and special projects at the Akron Beacon Journal, where she began work as a staff photographer in 1986. Over a 20-year career, Zake worked in a variety of roles across departments that all help inform her current role as Signal Akron's editor in chief. Most recently, she was a journalism professor and student media adviser at Kent State University, where she worked with the next generation of journalists to understand public policy, environmental reporting, data and solutions reporting. Among her accomplishments was the launch of the Kent State NewsLab, an experiential and collaborative news commons that connects student reporters with outside professional partners.