By Kristen Spicker
Dayton Daily News, Ohio
DAYTON, Ohio — A Flock camera helped lead police to a suspect in the shooting of a 15-year-old in Dayton Tuesday afternoon.
Around 3:30 p.m., Dayton police responded to a reported shooting at Washington Playground in the 3600 block of East Second Street.
Officers arrived to find a 15-year-old boy who had been shot multiple times, said Dayton police Maj. Brian Johns.
The teen was transported to the hospital in stable condition.
An investigation determined the teen was shot on North Garland Avenue and he ran to the park, Johns said.
A Flock camera in the area captured the suspect vehicle and police were able to broadcast the vehicle’s information to other police departments.
Kettering police found the suspect vehicle later Tuesday and arrested a male suspect.
The suspect has not been formally charged as of Wednesday afternoon.
Johns said the suspect had a 5.7 handgun.
“It’s kind of a rare handgun that you don’t see very often,” he said. “It was actually used in the shooting and death of (Dayton police Detective) Jorge Del Rio several years ago. It’s a very dangerous weapon. It differs from a regular handgun and will defeat body armor.”
A motive has not been determined in the shooting. Police are not looking for any additional suspects.
Johns said the Flock camera played a big role in police quickly identifying a potential suspect.
“Thanks to that Flock camera we were able to identify this vehicle within a matter of minutes,” he said. “It gave us at least a lead to go on whereas without the Flock camera we would’ve had very little to go on.”
The major noted teen violence was an issue in the city last year and is something the department is working to curb.
“Any shooting is bad, but last year we had an issue with youth violence,” Johns said. “It’s definitely up and it’s something we’re trying to address every day as a city and a police department.”
He mentioned the city’s peace campaign, which was unveiled at the end of January.
Dayton Mayor Jeffrey Mims Jr. said the campaign will try to identify the causes of violence while investing in youth development and creating safe spaces.
Johns also praised bystanders at Washington Playground for helping the teen.
“Anytime we have something like that it’s so good to see citizens coming together to help out,” he said.
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Staff writer Cornelius Frolik contributed to this report.
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