Boy dies 5 years after being hit by crossfire in quadruple shooting

CINCINNATI, Ohio (WXIX/Gray News) — A 13-year-old boy has died five years after he was shot in a quadruple shooting, according to police in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Hamilton County Coroner’s Office identified the boy as Marcellus Whitehead.

2021 shooting left 4 injured

Marcellus was 8 years old when gunfire erupted around 6:15 p.m. on a Saturday near the McHenry and Cavanaugh Avenue intersection in Cincinnati’s Westwood neighborhood. He and three others, including a 6-year-old child and two adults, were hit by bullets.

At the time of the shooting, then-Cincinnati Police Lt. Col. Mike John said the 8-year-old was left in “very, very bad shape” after being caught in the crossfire while hanging out in a nearby lot.

“I believe the children were just hanging out in that lot, and it’s just a tragic, tragic situation. It’s awful,” John said at the time. “Thoughts and prayers go out to the families in an incident like this. I mean, you can’t explain it. It’s a Saturday evening in the summer. It’s just a terrible situation.”

Doctors at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center placed Marcellus in a medically induced coma a day after the shooting.

At the time, the 6-year-old was in critical condition as well, according to John. The two adult victims suffered non-life-threatening injuries, John said.

2 men arrested in connection with shooting

Cincinnati police arrested Darius Harris Jr., now 24, who was initially charged with seven counts of felonious assault, Hamilton County court records show. Five of those counts were dismissed, court records show.

According to the Ohio Department of Corrections, Harris Jr. is now serving a prison sentence on charges of carrying a concealed weapon, having a weapon while under disability and two counts of felonious assault.

Javari Walker, now 23, was also arrested in connection with the shooting, court records show. Walker was sentenced to jail in 2023 and convicted of having weapons while under disability, according to court records.