PERRYSBURG, Ohio — A 16-year-old remains behind bars in Wood County on murder charges as prosecutors continue to weigh on whether or not to try him as an adult.
This stems from a Friday stabbing in Perrysburg that left 19-year-old Amonie Ervin dead.
Now neighbors and city leaders are speaking out as the community still tries to wrap its head around this rare show of violence.
"I would think this would not really go directly to whether this is a safe community," Mayor Tom Mackin told WTOL at a city council meeting Tuesday. "This was an isolated incident that involved particular people and a particular situation. So we'll, of course, review what we can do to make the community safe. But I think the best thing residents can take out of this is that the police and fire and all those people who are first responders handled this in such a professional manner and the matter is being taken care of the way it should be."
Police are not releasing many details about how this murder came to happen. The 16-year-old suspect is locked up and long-time Perrysburg neighbor Mark Echard said he wasn't surprised when he heard what happened.
"It's happened before and it can happen anywhere," Echard said. "I don't care where you're at and how much protection or how much stuff you have going. It could happen to anybody, anywhere."
But it doesn't usually take place in Perrysburg; it had been more than 40 years since a killing in the city.
"It's, of course, a tragedy for all those involved and especially the person who was killed and the alleged defendant and it's certainly something that we don't want to see happen again," Mackin said. "But it's certainly a tragedy for the family, most importantly."
The suspect has a court date scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 10.