1 dead following afternoon shooting in Dayton

A person is dead following a shooting Friday afternoon that prompted a Dayton elementary school and rec center to briefly lockdown.

The shooting was reported near West Third Street and South Orchard Avenue around 12:25 p.m. Dayton police Maj. Brian Johns confirmed a male died but didn’t have any additional information about the victim.

Roosevelt Elementary School and the Greater Dayton Recreation Center were on lockdown as investigators search for the suspect.

“Roosevelt Elementary entered a precautionary shelter-in-place at approximately 12:30 p.m. after an incident occurred at the Greater Dayton Recreation Center,” said Dayton Public Schools Interim Superintendent David Lawrence. “At this time, police have informed the district that there is no threat to the building. While the incident did not occur on school property, the school remains in a shelter-in-place, and all students are safe and accounted for.”

The shelter-in-place was lifted at approximately 2:30 p.m.

A 911 caller told dispatchers he was pulling into the parking lot when he heard gunfire, according to Montgomery County Regional Dispatch records.

“There was just a shooting,” he said. “Somebody definitely got shot. It looked like the guy shot him, he went down and then the guy shot him again.”

The caller said they appeared to be teenagers.

A police canine crew responded to the scene to track the suspect.

It is not clear how many people were involved in the shooting. There was a report of people running away from the scene, but Johns said it’s not known if they were involved.

Crews found multiple shell cases in the parking lot, but it wasn’t immediately known how many rounds were fired. At least one hit glass at the rec center, Johns added.

Investigators are also looking into what led up to the shooting and what caused it.

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