Fire reported at home where vigil had been held for slain teen boy

TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo fire crews were busy Monday night putting out a fire at the same house where a 14-year-old boy was found dead the night before.

The exact cause of the fire is undetermined, but candles were burning on the front steps for a vigil for Royce Chatman, the Start High School freshman who died after a gunshot wound Sunday night.  

The call came in around 11:30 p.m. Monday for a fire at a home in the 1800 block of Brussels Street. Crews found a fire in the mulch area in front of the house, which had spread to the front porch. 

The fire was quickly put out and the exact cause is still undetermined. Columbia Gas had to shut off the gas to the home because of a leak.

Toledo police responded to the home about 10:47 p.m. Sunday after the report of a person shot. The boy's body was found by a garage in the rear of the house. 

No arrest has been made nor has a person of interest been specified in the case. 

The homicide is the 16th in the Toledo metro area so far this year and is the fourth homicide of a person under the age of 20 this month. 

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David Misch, 19, was shot on March 1 and died days later from his wounds. Misch was a bystander in an east Toledo incident that also claimed the life of 44-year-old Brad Keel. Two people - Mathew Garcia, 23, and Brandon Lampros, 22 - are charged in the shooting deaths. 

Tavion Brown, 15, was shot in the 300 block of East Central Avenue on March 10. He was taken to Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center by an "unrelated citizen" and officers were called out to the hospital around 2:40 p.m. Tavion had at least one gunshot wound, TPD said. He later died at the hospital.

Kyreese Hodges, 18, was shot on Saturday, March 20 around 6:45 p.m. Toledo Police say they found him on the corner of Easterly Court and Leach. Hodges’ aunt says he was on a dirt bike on his way to a convenience store near his home when he was shot in the back at least one time.

In 2020 there were 62 homicides in the Toledo metro area. Twenty-five of those were victims 25 years old or younger. Fifteen victims were just teenagers.