“This has to stop. Enough is enough,” Springfield Police Chief Allison Elliott said at a Friday press conference. “When you’re watching families grieve at a crime scene, watching families in agony and pain, and understanding the impact that has, we have to see that. We have to understand that we have to come together as a community. ... Public safety and safety is a shared responsibility.”
Graham, 31, was killed in the Buckeye Street shooting by a gunshot to the right side of his chest near his armpit.
Taborn, 16, was killed in the second shooting and was found in a black SUV crashed into a brick house on the northeast corner of Limestone Street and Euclid Avenue, Sgt. James Byron said Friday. He had a gunshot wound to his head.
About 20 minutes later, another shooting was reported in the 200 block of East Euclid Avenue, a few blocks away. Police found a man with multiple gunshot wounds, and he was transported to Springfield Regional Medical Center before being transferred to Miami Valley Hospital. Byron said the man has since been released from the hospital.
The nonfatal third shooting is believed to be connected to Taborn’s murder, but not to that of Graham, Byron said.
In response to a question about whether there is a present danger to the public now, Byron said the investigations were independent and said “I don’t really want to go further into it.”
He declined to share if suspects had been identified.
Taborn and Graham lived in the neighborhoods in which they died but “not necessarily on that street,” Byron said.
This brings Springfield’s homicide total to six for the year — the same as for all of 2024.
“Obviously not a stat that we want to be comparing to last year, but we are well ahead of where we should be,” Byron said.
Credit: Marshall Gorby
Credit: Marshall Gorby
The annual homicide total in Springfield has ranged from five to 10 for each of the past five years.
Elliott urged the community to stay vigilant.
“Be aware of your surroundings. If you see something, say something.” Elliott said. “And for both of these incidents and just like others that we’ve had, any information that anybody can provide, if somebody knows information on either of these situations, please reach out to us.”
Having three shootings — with two being homicides — taxes the police but does not change the agency’s resolve to fully investigate each case, Byron said. He said investigators have “been working around the clock basically since 3 a.m. on Wednesday morning.”
The city received support from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Springfield Fire Rescue Division. Byron said SPD used its own drone to investigate the Buckeye Street homicide, but the battery was depleted by that afternoon, so the fire department lent its drone for the shootings later.
Earlier this year the federal government abruptly canceled a community violence prevention grant soon after approving budget revisions, freezing $1.24 million for Springfield’s local efforts to curb gun violence.
“As far as the grant goes, that was to enhance and help our community response and a collaborative way to approach gun violence with our youth and gun violence in general,” Elliott said. She noted that the decision to cancel the grant is being appealed. “... At this point, that’s not going to change how we respond, how we handle these incidents and how we approach them.”
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