The girl was asleep in an upstairs bedroom when gunfire struck three homes on West Fairview Avenue around 1 a.m., Dayton police Maj. Brian Johns said during a press briefing Friday.
“I jumped up to make sure the door was locked and in that split second my youngest daughter called my name,” Nooks said.
Johns said the girl’s 11-year-old sister found her dead on the floor.
“I tried to resuscitate her, but I couldn’t,” Nooks said. “As a dad you’re supposed to be able to protect your kids, but I couldn’t in that situation.”
Montgomery County Coroner Dr. Kent Harshbarger identified the girl as Isabella A’more Carlos.
Johns said it isn’t clear why the house was shot at and that there’s no evidence the house was the target of any retaliation or crime.
“They seem like a very great family just trying to live their life,” he said. “We have no idea why their house was targeted. It could be that someone just decided to shoot these houses up for some other reason that we don’t know yet. This house was just caught in the crossfire.”
There are residents at the other two houses, but it’s not clear how many people were home at the time of the shooting. No one else was shot.
Crews recovered more than 30 rifle casings from the scene. The rounds were fired from the street toward the houses.
It appears there were at least two shooters involved, Johns said. It’s not clear whether the suspects were in a vehicle or on foot.
Dayton Public Schools Superintendent David Lawrence said the district was providing additional support to Charity Adams Earley Girls Academy, which is in northwest Dayton and focused on girls’ education.
Crisis counselors were available and Lawrence said he and assistant superintendent Lisa Minor were at the school.
“We offer our heartfelt condolences to all family and friends during this difficult time,” Lawrence said. “The school had counselors on-site on Friday, and will continue to provide support to any students who need it. Families who need support outside of school hours are encouraged to call the Montgomery County 24/7 crisis support line at 833-580-2255.”
Carlos has attended Charity Adams since kindergarten, Lawrence said, the same amount of time the principal has been working there.
“The principal is devastated,” he said.
Dayton police officials said the girl is the eighth juvenile killed in Dayton this year.
“I’ve been here a long time and to be at eight juvenile victims so far is something I’ve never seen in my time here,” said Johns.
Dayton Police Department data obtained by this newspaper show that there were seven shootings that injured juveniles in 2023, eight in 2022 and 16 in 2021. Some of the shootings were deadly. Some were felony assaults, while others were accidental in nature or firearm discharges, with unclear intent.
Johns shared his condolences for the family and urged people to come forward with any information about the shooting.
“It’s crucial that we solve this crime,” he said. “A 12-year-old girl was asleep in her bed when she was murdered in front of her family.”
Dayton Mayor Jeffrey Mims Jr. said he’s at a loss for words after this devastating tragedy.
The mayor said young people “make up 20% of the city’s population but 100%” of its future,” and this promising young girl could have grown up and gone on to do great things.
Mims said city leadership will continue to try to get the message out to the community to “put down the damn guns.”
Mims said the city also is working to launch a violence interruption program similar to initiatives in other communities that officials claim have led to large decreases in shootings and gun violence.
The mayor said he wants to work with the schools to try to get young people conflict resolution training so that they learn skills that can help them avoid violence.
Mims also said the city is working to find other creative ways to combat violent crime by using or expanding the use of technology that can help identify suspects and develop investigative leads, like license plate readers.
Through the first half of this year, the Dayton Police Department recorded about 308 aggravated assaults, which include shootings and other violent acts. Aggravated assaults were up 19%, compared to 2023.
Police said there were 264 violent crimes involving firearms from Jan. 1 to June 30 of this year — an 18% increase from the same period in 2023. Through the end of June, there were 14 firearm-related homicides, which was the same number as the first half of last year.
Dayton police data show that last year five of the seven shootings that injured or killed juveniles were assaults. Two incidents were firearm discharges with undetermined intent.
In 2022, six of the eight shootings involving juvenile victims were firearm discharges with undetermined intent, accidental or self-inflicted. In 2021, 10 of the 16 incidents were assaults, while the rest were firearm discharges with unclear intent.
People can call Miami Valley Crime Stoppers at 937-222-STOP (7867) or leave a tip at https://www.miamivalleycrimestoppers.com/. All tips are anonymous.