On the evening of Sunday, December 14, 2025, a shooting at the RTA Puritas Rapid Station on Cleveland’s west side left 27-year-old Benjamin McComas dead. Emergency responders pronounced McComas deceased at the scene after officers arrived around 7:25 p.m. McComas, from Avon Lake, was a photographer and worked at Studio West 117, a local LGBTQ+ arts space.

Greater Cleveland RTA Police detained a 25-year-old man, Donnie Allen, at the station and recovered a firearm. The Cleveland Division of Police Homicide Unit took over the investigation. Allen was charged with aggravated murder and related counts; at his arraignment a judge set bond at $1 million and he pleaded not guilty. Court paperwork ordered no contact with the victim’s family and a pretrial hearing was set for early January 2026.

Allen’s recent release from Cuyahoga County Jail on December 9, after The Bail Project posted part of his reduced bond following a December 4 arrest, has drawn criticism from city officials and Cleveland City Council members. Does anyone have information about McComas, his work at Studio West 117, or the events at Puritas Station that night?