MANSFIELD — Mansfield police Capt. Randy Carver just returned from a year-long military deployment overseas, serving as the 1st Sgt. in an Ohio Army National Guard infantry combat team.
The veteran soldier and long-time police officer said he wishes local residents, especially young people, better understood the finality of bullets.
“We train (that) words aren’t lethal … but bullets, you just can’t take back,” Carver said Monday afternoon during an interview with Richland Source that included police Chief Keith Porch.
The two law enforcement officers were talking about the shooting incident late Friday night during a party at 810 Ferndale Ave. that killed two people and wounded four others.
Killed were Brandon Collins, 18, and Jarmel Boyd, 17, according to the Richland County Coroner’s Office, the 10th and 11th homicides Mansfield police have handled in 2023.
The ages of the wounded victims ranged from 14 to 19 years of age, according to police.
No arrests had been made as of Monday afternoon, according to Porch. He said detectives have worked around the clock since the shooting at 11:40 p.m. inside the small, ranch-style house in a residential neighborhood.
Both Carver and Porch remarked about the emotions heard on the 911 call from inside the small house after the shooting.
(A video with the 911 call audio and transcript in the aftermath of Friday night’s shooting is below. Listener discretion is advised. Certain portions of the call have been cut or muted due to profanity or to protect the privacy of potential minors at the scene.)
“That young man on the 911 tape, you can hear the fear and the realization in his voice and the reality that someone just died or is dying in front of him,” Carver said.
“I just wish there was a way to help others understand that without having to go through something that way,” he said.
“It’s unfortunate it’s happening in our neighborhoods with the kids, with our community, the children, the young adults in our community.
“Seeing it (overseas in the military) is one thing, but coming back home and seeing it in our backyard, that’s another thing,” Carver said.
A quiet scene on Monday
The vinyl-sided, one-story house with maroon shutters on Ferndale Avenue sits in a quiet neighborhood on the city’s near east side.
There was no indication it had been the scene of a tragedy just two nights earlier.
A portable basketball hoop stood silent vigil in the yard of the house next door. Many houses on the street had colorful Halloween decorations and/or political signs in their front yards.
A “Welcome” sign was seen on the porch of the house where the shootings took place. The porch light was on in the early afternoon hours at the house built on a slab in 1952.
There were some signs of a party still visible. A red Solo cup was in the front yard. A smashed Busch Light Peach beer can was in the gravel driveway. An empty Twisted Tea can was nearby.
But there was no way to tell 40 to 50 young people had been inside the 1,152-square foot house when the shooting began — and where police later found multiple guns, suspected drugs and alcohol.
Porch said his department’s primary focus is finding the shooter(s).
“I’ve heard rumors that this house was rented like an Airbnb for the purposes of this party. I don’t know that to confirm it at this point,” he said.
“Clearly, by the ages, you have minors involved in the party. I know from the lieutenant, that upon executing a search warrant, there were firearms found there, along with drugs. And I’m gonna assume alcohol.
“So we definitely haven’t got to that part of how this even got to be a big party or how this was made available to young folks,” the chief said.
“It’s sad and it’s tragic, an incident like this, especially when we have six shooting victims in one house. I know how much this can impact a community. I think every detective knows it, as well. They are working hard to get it solved,” Porch said.
Investigation is ongoing
The chief said the department’s three-member Community Action Team was called in after the shooting to assist detectives with the investigation.
“They are activated full-time now to assist with any leads or tips that come in,” he said.
“We always have to worry about the potential of spillover from this incident .. of retaliation. So we provided extra police officers to the schools today. I know counselors have been at the schools to help with students who may have been traumatized by the incident,” the chief said.
Porch said hearing the 911 call was heartwrenching.
“You can just imagine you have people on the other side of that line. They’re seeing people take their last breaths. Particularly in today’s age, where youth thinks that’s a game that you can come back from … I’m sure by that caller’s voice (those moments) will live with him forever,” the chief said.
The veteran chief said the rising local gun violence has taken a toll on the community — and on his department.
“I can see in this year of emotion, this up and down, detectives and officers working hard. They’ve gotten closure on some of these cases, but it weighs on them (too).
“They take it home with them. I think everybody, even the public, understands this is the job we signed up for.
“But I can tell you, that 11 (homicides) to me feels like 1,100. It’s tougher when we don’t have closure because that means folks are still on our streets. They still have the potential to cause more tragedy within a community, which we want to prevent,” the chief said.
‘It’s just a different time, a different age’
Porch urged parents to be more involved in the lives of their children.
“What I mean by that is why is your 13-year-old, 14-year-old out at midnight and 2 or 3 in the morning? Know what your youth are doing and have a better grip on that.
“I’m sure since the beginning of time, there’s always been kids that sneak out do things that you shouldn’t do. But it’s just a different time, a different age, with this gun violence and the way altercations are being solved with guns.
“It’s coming to a point where you really have to be hanging on the shoulders of a child to make sure that they are where they’re supposed to be,” the chief said.
For Carver, who spent much of 2023 overseas, it’s been a hard thing to see after returning home from military duty.
“I hope we can take some steps forward after something like this. I know the chief and the department, we’re doing everything we can to curb this violence and reach some of these youth.
“It’s not something we want to continue to see,” Carver said.