$5,000 reward offered after filming at SummerFest in Macedonia

MACEDONIA, Ohio — Police in Macedonia thought they had solved a shooting that terrified festival-goers on the night of June 8, but evidence revealed the shooter — possibly a teenager — is still out there.

As a result, Summit County Crimestoppers is now offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the solution of the shooting.

Drone camera video, broadcast on News 5, captured chaotic moments as people exited a ride at SummerFest near the rec center and several police officers ran toward the area where witnesses heard shots fire just after 10 p.m.

Police said two to five shots were fired into the air after fireworks on the second and final night of the festival ended.

“At the time, we didn’t know if anyone had actually been hit by any of the bullets,” Lt. Christian Costello said.

It was a terrifying experience for LaJuan Flores, who attended the festival with her three children and a 1-year-old she was babysitting.

“We’re starting to see a rush of people running to the rec center,” Flores said. “I see everyone running and then we heard a few gunshots, and so when I heard the first gunshot, that’s when we quickly came to our senses and got out of there .”

Costello said some people were slightly injured while fleeing, but he was very happy no one was shot.

“The bullets have to go up. They’re falling somewhere. Plus, they’re panicking. The sound of gunshots scares everyone away,” Costello said.

As police searched for the shooter, they were notified that a teenager armed with a gun was inside a car in a nearby grassy parking lot.

The body camera captured the arrest of a 17-year-old boy. They found a 9mm handgun in the car.

Detectives said the gun turned out to be one of 30 guns stolen from an Akron area gun store in 2022.

However, Costello said tests revealed that was not the gun fired at the festival.

“The firearm was sent to the BCI for examination. They determined that the shell casings we recovered and the gun were not the same, so the shell casings we recovered did not come from the gun that we got back,” Costello said.

That means police are back to square one, trying to determine who shot up the festival.

Police hope the reward from Summit County Crimestoppers will motivate someone to come forward with the truth.

Asked how worried he was that the shooter was still out there, Costello replied: “Very worried. I mean, if he’s willing to pull out a gun in a massive crowd and shoot air because of a disagreement with another party, who He knows what he might be capable of. Someone knows who he was Someone was there with him. We’re just asking them to do the right thing and. to manifest.

Flores, who has attended the festival for several years, believes the shooting proves that people need to be vigilant wherever they go.

“Unfortunately, we live in new times and so we all need to keep our eyes and ears open to make sure we are as safe as possible,” Flores said.

The incident prompted Macedonia Mayor Nick Molnar to suspend similar seasonal events to keep the community safe.

Macedonia suspends all city ‘parties’ following Summerfest shootings

RELATED: Macedonia suspends all city ‘parties’ following Summerfest shootings

“We will re-evaluate all events moving forward, and I have immediately suspended all city parties,” Molnar said in a statement.

Tipsters can remain anonymous when calling Summit County Crimestoppers at 330-434-COPS.