Keion LaShawn DeGrate, 21, was fatally shot on December 8, 2024, in Patterson Park near the 600 block of Lucille Avenue in Akron. Responding officers found DeGrate unresponsive in a grassy area by the park’s basketball courts; he had sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators recovered more than a dozen rifle casings, consistent with a high-caliber firearm, and witnesses described at least one vehicle, possibly an SUV, fleeing the area after the shooting.

No arrests have been announced and no suspects have been identified. The Akron Police Department is asking anyone with information to contact the Detective Bureau at 330-375-2490 or 330-375-2Tip; anonymous tips can be made to Summit County Crimestoppers at 330-434-COPS. If anyone has information about Keion LaShawn DeGrate, the events at Patterson Park, or the fleeing vehicle, please come forward.