Child shot in Dayton may be retaliation for fatal Trotwood shooting

DAYTON -- A shooting in Trotwood that left a man dead and a second in Dayton that left a child wounded are likely connected, police said:

• A 9-year-old child was struck by gunfire that hit a house in the 1100 block of Dennison Avenue in Dayton
• A woman and two other young children in that home were not hit by gunfire
• Police believe the Dennison Avenue shooting is connected to a deadly afternoon shooting in Trotwood
• Trotwood police have a man in custody in that shooting, which occurred on Autumn Woods Drive

Dennison Ave shooting Someone was shot on Dennison Ave in Dayton Monday night.

UPDATE @ 4 p.m. (Feb. 28): A 9-year-old boy who was hit by a bullet fired at a home in the 1100 block of Dennison Avenue on Monday is back home and doing OK.

The boy’s father tells us the family was shaken up by the incident, but feel blessed and lucky that their son is OK. The father said they do not know who fired the gunshots that pierced through the walls of the home, one round striking the boy in the leg.

Police have said it’s possible the shooting incident on Dennison is related to a fatal shooting at an apartment on Autumn Wood Drive in Trotwood earlier that day.

Twenty-four-year-old Charles McDonald Jr. was the victim who was shot and killed in the Trotwood incident.

According to the girlfriend of the unnamed suspect in the Trotwood shooting, the home on Dennison is where her mother lives and it’s possible that McDonald’s friends targeted the house in retaliation.

According to the 9-1-1 call from the Dennison Avenue incident, the mother of the 9-year-old boy was frantic to get police on scene.

"My daughter's baby daddy got shot and killed earlier and I think they retaliated at my house … the stuff that happened on Autumn Wood earlier," the caller told the dispatcher.

Trotwood police said they have made an arrest in the Autumn Wood Drive shooting but they have not identified the suspect.

A check of inmates at the Montgomery County Jail shows 23-year-old Deron A. Martin was arrested Monday by Trotwood police on suspicion of murder. Police have not yet confirmed that he is the suspect in the fatal shooting.

UPDATE @ 9:17 p.m. (Feb. 27):  The 9-year-old child shot in the leg, hit by a bullet that bored through the door of a home in the 1100 block of Dennison Avenue, is in stable condition, Dayton Lt. Mark Ponichtera said.

Police believe tonight's shooting likely is related to the deadly shooting at a Trotwood apartment on Autumn Woods Drive this afternoon.

RELATED: Shooting in Trotwood leaves 23-year-old man dead

Officers escorted a woman and two more young children from the house and to a police cruiser.

Police were dispatched to Dennison Avenue about 7:45 p.m. on a report of a shooting. They found shell casings in the street. They wrapped crime scene tape around an SUV parked in front of the house as well as the house.

Dayton and Trotwood detectives are comparing notes tonight and will continue to confer with each other Tuesday.

"Obviously a child has been injured here and that's quite tragic. Any loss of life is tragic like what happened in the city of Trotwood today," Ponichtera said. "The fact that a child was injured makes this an especially dangerous situation for the neighborhood."

Ponichtera said police have no information on who fired the shots and he declined comment on what type of weapon was used.

Police don't know who the target was or why shots were fired into the home, he said.

"We know that people in this home are related in some manner to the individuals involved in the Trotwood incident today,"  the lieutenant said.

If you know anything about either shooting, you are asked to call Crime Stoppers at 222-STOP or Dayton police at 333-COPS. You may remain anonymous.