Ohio Boy Dies 5 Years After Westwood Shooting Injuries

The Hamilton County Coroner's Office identified the boy as Marcellus Whitehead. He was 13 when he died, five years after he was shot in Cincinnati's Westwood neighborhood.

The gunfire started around 6:15 p.m. on a Saturday near the intersection of McHenry and Cavanaugh Avenue in 2021. Marcellus, then 8, was with three others in a nearby lot when bullets hit him, a 6-year-old child and two adults.

Then-Cincinnati Police Lt. Col. Mike John said at the time that the 8-year-old was left in "very, very bad shape" after being caught in the crossfire. He said the children were just hanging out in the 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. "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. The 6-year-old was also in critical condition, John said. The two adults had injuries that were not life-threatening.

Cincinnati police arrested Darius Harris Jr., now 24. Hamilton County court records show he was initially charged with seven counts of felonious assault, and five of those counts were later dismissed. The Ohio Department of Corrections says Harris Jr. is 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 convicted in 2023 of having weapons while under disability and sentenced to jail.