HOWLAND, Ohio (WKBN) – Police have named four victims from Saturday’s mass shooting at a Howland home that killed two and sent three others to hospitals. An investigation is ongoing, but officials said the incident stemmed from a family dispute.
Sunday, the Howland Police Department confirmed 19-year-old Josh Haber died at the scene on Niles Cortland Road, while Joshua Williams, 20, died later in the hospital.
The department also released the names of two individuals who were taken to the hospital — 43-year-old April Trent and 20-year-old Bryce Hendrickson, who both had surgery Saturday night. The other victim is a 17-year-old, whose name won’t be released.
Nasser Hamad, 47, is charged with two counts of aggravated murder and three counts of attempted murder. He is expected to appear in court Monday.
According to the police department, the incident stemmed from a family dispute regarding Hamad dating Hendrickson’s mother, Tracy Hendrickson. She was not involved in the shooting but was inside the house when it happened.
“Bryce is the son, who is upset because [Tracy] is dating Nasser Hamad and has left her husband,” Howland Police Chief Nick Roberts said.
Officials say Trent drove all five victims to Hamad’s house on Niles-Cortland Road to confront him about the ongoing dispute. The situation then escalated from a physical confrontation to Hamad firing shots at their van around 4:25 p.m. Saturday.
Officers arrived on scene and found several victims shot in a Dodge Caravan, while Hamad was walking back into the home carrying a gun. Hamad was then ordered out of the house by officers and taken into custody.
Police say it was not a random act, but rather the result of an ongoing dispute between all people involved.
The 911 calls started coming in shortly after the shooting, and Route 46 between Home Depot and Howland Springs Road was shut down for several hours.Trumbull County Sheriff Paul Monroe interview
In a 911 call, a man said, “The guy from two houses down was just shooting a gun into a [car]. He’s still shooting right now. People are running everywhere.”
Another man reported, “A car was kind of off the side of the road — it looked like it had been in an accident. I stopped because there was a kid with blood on him screaming for help. I pulled in to see what was going on. Someone yelled ‘You bastard’ and he just opened fire and started shooting. So I got out of my car and ran.”Listen: Man’s 911 call
In another 911 call, a woman said, “There was a man with a bloody face that ran away across the road right in front of my vehicle towards the woods. He had a mustache.”Listen: Woman’s 911 call
Tim Bryner witnessed the shooting and talked with WKBN.
“I’m a shooter and he knows how to shoot,” Bryner said. “He held the gun — this guy knows how to shoot. This was not a gangster shooting it sideways or anything. He was right on.”
WKBN talked to an employee at Dunkin’ Donuts, on Rt. 46, who said they heard the shooting over the drive through speakers. She said they worked quickly to make sure everyone was safe, then locked up the store.
“We’ve just been trying to get the store cleaned up,” Mariah Cullison said. “We’ve been really slow and only been serving the cops and everyone working the scene.”
The Caravan, with four bullet holes, was towed from the scene at 10:30 p.m.
Police reported taking a knife, several 9mm shell casings and a Smith and Wesson Model 439 from the scene.
Howland detectives and the Trumbull County Homicide Unit ask for anyone with any information they have not already given to the police to call the Trumbull 911 Non-Emergency Line at 330-675-2730 and ask to speak with a detective.
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