Pictured are three victims of Cleveland's quadruple murders and suspect Armond Johnson Sr. (pictured) . Also pictured are Johnson's 25-year-old ex-girlfriend, Takeya Collins, whom he is accused of shooting and killing July 9 at her home in Slavic Village on Cleveland's east side, his son with Collins, Armond Johnson Jr. , six, and the boy's sister, two-year-old Aubree Stone, both of them dying of smoke inhalation inside the home after the older Johnson allegedly set it on fire after killing Collins. Not pictured is a fourth victim, neighbor David Cousin, 35, who was fatally shot in the head and chest by Johnson, authorities have said.
By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief. Coleman is an experienced Black legal and political reporter who covered the 2008 presidential election for the Call and Post Newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio and the presidential elections in 2012 and 2016 at Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com. As to the Obama interview CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.
Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, CLEVELAND, Ohio-Quadruple murders, allegedly at the hands of a 26-year-old disgruntled Black father in Slavic Village at a duplex on 63rd Street near Fleet Avenue on the city's east side, have rocked Cleveland, police arresting the suspect after he later showed up at the murder scene pretending to be grieving the unprecedented murders, one of the victims his son, another his ex-girl friend, a third his son's sister, and the fourth a 35-year-old neighbor.
Armond Johnson Sr., 26, is charged with multiple counts of aggravated murder in Tuesday's quadruple homicide, Mayor Frank Jackson Police chief Calvin Williams announced at a news conference Thursday afternoon, Williams, who is Black, adding that while Johnson is the only suspect to date the investigation is ongoing.
Johnson was arrested at the murder scene on a warrant relative to a March 20 armed robbery and had just been released from prison a day earlier regarding an unrelated criminal case in which he served four years in prison, public records reveal.
He is expected to be arraigned on Friday and additional charges are likely, sources say.
Police say Johnson shot and killed his 25-year-old ex-girlfriend, Takeya Collins, and then allegedly set fire to the home where is ex resided, his son with Collins, Armond Johnson Jr., six, and the boy's sister, two-year-old Aubree Stone, dying of smoke inhalation inside the home, the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner said.
A neighbor, David Cousin, 35, was fatally shot in the head and chest by Johnson, who had killed his ex-girlfriend with a gunshot wound to the stomach, authorities said Thursday.
Johnson has a history of domestic violence, public records show, and Collins had a restraining order against him.
A 6 pm vigil with friends and family members of the murder victims is scheduled for today outside of the home where the tragic murders occurred, community organizers said.
The suspect, his murdered ex- girlfriend, and her two dead children, one of them his, are all Black, and Cleveland is a largely Black major American city of roughly 383,000 people, its violent crime rate reaching epidemic proportions.
The city's violent rate is 43% higher than the Ohio average and 307% higher than the national average, and Forbes says there are roughly 1,363 per 100,000 residents subject to violent crimes, Black leaders saying Cleveland has the trappings of a large urban city, including urban blight, struggling public schools, heightened poverty, housing discrimination, and little assistance from the federal government
"These killings must stop, and Black leaders must come together with other community members to deal with this growing problem" former state representative Bill Patmon told Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Patmon also a former Cleveland councilman, and of whom could not seek reelection last year as a state lawmaker due to term limits.
Black activist leaders are also upset, including longtime community activist Art McKoy of Black on Black Crime Inc., McKoy saying while visiting the murder scene that "it is just terrible."
Mayor Jackson, the city's third Black mayor, is upset too, sources say, though he rarely shows emotion, which is part of his political persona, one that has garnered him an unprecedented fourth term.
Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog with some 5 million views on Google Plus alone.Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com.
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