Ward 7 meeting discusses June 27 assault

A Ward 7 meeting Wednesday night brought many issues to the forefront, including the June 27 Firestone fireworks attack, that has brought national attention to the neighborhood, according to a report on AkronNewsNow.com

Residents, Akron's gang unit and Summit County Juvenile Court Judge Linda Tucci Teodosio all addressed the topics of race, gangs and more at the Ward 7 Firestone Park Community Center meeting.

[The report includes an audio by Judge Tedosio.]

Ward 7 Councilwoman Tina Merletti brought community leaders, police officers, City Council members and religious leaders to speak to the crowd Wednesday night.

The meeting started with Pastor Steve Marshall, the brother of Martin Marshall, whose family was attacked June 27. He said that his brother's family is taking the slow road to recovery, both physically and psychologically. He went on to thank the police on behalf of his brother for assisting the family during their time of need as well as thank the Firestone Park community as a whole for their support of the Marshall Family. Steve Marshall cited a few examples of how people stepped up to support Martin's family including church donations, car washes, and other forms of fundraising. Steve brought up his brother's physical condition during the meeting ,saying Martin was getting better every day, but some days were still extremely difficult.

Residents expressed outrage at the attackers, with some saying that they needed to "man up" and come forward about the attack. An anonymous Firestone Park resident said that he had no previous problems with gang activity in his neighborhood, but the police need to do their part in bringing those responsible to justice. The meeting had its tense moments as well with some Firestone Park residents talking about some of the problems in their neighborhood, bringing up times where they were victims of crime.

Judge Linda Tucci Teodosio, one of the keynote speakers at the meeting, said that she does not know if this incident was gang-related but she has not seen an abundance of gang members in her courtroom. As a judge in Juvenile Court, she says that young people join gangs because of a lack of support in their lives and lack of positive activities." Unfortunately , kids who may not be involved in positive activities or don't have a connection with their families looking for support, and if they're not finding that support through family or other groups, they find another way to find people to be with and do things with."

Judge Teodosio says that even though there have been a very limited number of gang related offenders that have come in her courtroom, there needs to be adults that can tell kids who may become involved with a gang that there are other options that can put them on the right path.

Officer Rod Criss of the Akron Police Department's Gang Unit knows that targeting a gang can sometimes be difficult,but he says that anyone can leave a anonymous tip with police and any relevant information can be useful to help solving crimes, including this one. "At this point we don't have enough information on wether or not this incident is gang related." Criss said. The best thing is for people to be aware of their surroundings and avoid situations that they feel aren't right." Police say they have received exactly one tip in this case since the story broke.

When the Firestone Park Community Meeting came to a close, Merletti thanked the speakers, and those in attendance for coming, saying that the Ward 7 community was "strong" and that residents of Firestone Park,no matter what race or creed need to come together as a neighborhood and to help police in their investigation.

Click on the headline to read the WAKR web report.