Akron Press Conference Addresses Public Safety Ahead of Mayor’s Address

AKRON, Ohio — Akron Mayor Shammas Malik held a press conference Thursday morning to discuss public safety just one month before his upcoming state of the city address. Joined by various city officials, the mayor highlighted important statistics regarding crime in the city.

During the Q&A session, Akron Police Chief Brian Harding provided updates on ongoing investigations, particularly referencing a mass shooting that occurred 11 months ago. The tragic incident left one person dead and nearly 30 injured. Chief Harding stated, “I don’t have a large update on that. We continue to work on that. I envision that here in the next month we’ll be coming up with some even more information and following up and talking through that as we get closer to the one-year anniversary.”

Harding added that a detective is dedicated almost exclusively to this case, emphasizing a commitment to following up on leads and maintaining contact with victims.

As the press conference progressed, Chief Harding presented data from the first quarter of the year. He reported an increase in sexual assaults, indicating there were 77 reported rapes in 2023, which decreased to 50 in the previous year. However, for the first quarter of 2025, the number of reported rapes has risen to 73.

“We’ve seen an increase in juvenile on juvenile-related sexual assaults,” Harding noted. Additionally, he reported one deadly shooting involving an adult and 11 non-fatal shootings in the city so far this year.

In response to the rising gun violence, Mayor Malik expressed optimism about recent statistical trends, stating, “We are focused on tackling gun violence, and we are really heartened to see some of the statistics that we shared this morning in terms of positive trends. I think it reflects a lot of amazing work done day in and day out by our APD officers, and I want to thank each and every one of them for their hard work in helping us create a safer community.”