Akron police officers responded to multiple 911 calls reporting gunfire near 30 West Wilbeth Road in the area of Firestone Stadium around 8:10 p.m. on Saturday March 28, 2026. Upon arrival they located a vehicle that had crashed into a tree line on Hemlock Street south of West Wilbeth Road and was partially engulfed in flames.
Inside the vehicle officers found 47-year-old Tania Mangual suffering from a gunshot wound and her 12-year-old son Jericho with a gunshot wound. A 2-year-old child also in the vehicle was not physically injured. Emergency responders transported the injured to hospitals where Tania Mangual was pronounced dead at 8:50 p.m. and Jericho later died from his injuries.
A 49-year-old woman who had been shot at the scene fled and called 911 providing critical information that helped identify the suspect as 28-year-old Brandon T. Casto. Witnesses reported that the shooting stemmed from an altercation involving Casto and the victims near 30 West Wilbeth Road.
Casto fled the scene after the gunfire but later turned himself in to the Meigs County Sheriff’s Office in southeast Ohio near the West Virginia border. He was taken into custody without incident and is being held at the Southeast Regional Jail in Nelsonville facing two counts of aggravated murder and two counts of felonious assault.
The Akron Police Department coordinated with the Meigs County Sheriff’s Office to take Casto into custody after he indicated to friends that he might be fleeing the Akron area. Detectives executed a search warrant at an apartment connected to Casto and recovered multiple firearms and accessories.
The investigation confirmed the shooting occurred near 30 West Wilbeth Road with the crashed vehicle on Hemlock Street south of West Wilbeth Road. No other individuals were reported injured in the incident that unfolded in this east side neighborhood of Akron near Firestone Stadium.
Tania Mangual and her 12-year-old son Jericho were remembered by family and community members as beloved individuals whose lives were taken suddenly in the shooting near 30 West Wilbeth Road. The tragedy has left the Akron community in mourning with calls for support for the surviving 2-year-old child and other family members. Local residents have expressed sorrow over the violence that occurred in a residential area near the stadium and have offered condolences through shared messages and prayers.
The Akron Police Department continues its investigation into the March 28 shooting near 30 West Wilbeth Road with the case now involving the arrest of Brandon T. Casto. Detectives have asked the public for any additional information or video from the area around 8:10 p.m. or the Hemlock Street crash site. The department has emphasized that the incident appears isolated to the parties involved with no ongoing threat to the public in the east side neighborhood.
Akron residents have rallied in support of the victims’ family following the shooting near 30 West Wilbeth Road and the crash on Hemlock Street south of West Wilbeth Road. The loss of Tania Mangual and her son Jericho has prompted reflections on gun violence in the community while the legal proceedings against Casto advance. As the investigation proceeds authorities maintain focus on providing justice for the family and answers for those affected by the tragedy in Akron Ohio.
