‘Don’t Do It!’: Ohio Man Accused of Shooting Mother and 12-Year-Old Son to Death Over a Parking Dispute. Passenger Only Survives After Gun Misfires
An Ohio man was jailed on a $3 million bond and faces felony charges after allegedly gunning down a mother and her son over a parking spot.
Brandon Casto, 28, was charged with two counts of aggravated murder and two counts of felonious assault with a weapon.
Police were called to the scene on March 28 after receiving multiple 911 calls about a woman who had been shot in a residential community of Akron.
According to WOIO, responding officers arrived to find a grisly scene — a car partially on fire that had crashed into a tree.
Inside the vehicle, they found a 12-year-old boy and his 47-year-old mother, who had been shot. The 12-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene, and his mother later died at the hospital.
First responders also recovered a 2-year-old boy who was alive and uninjured. The toddler was taken to a local hospital as a precaution.
Authorities identified the deceased individuals as 47-year-old Tania Mangual and her 12-year-old son, Jericho Mangual.
Tania Mangual’s longtime friend, who was also an eyewitness to the murder, narrowly escaped death herself during the shooting.
Sabrina Glover, 49, said she, Mangual, and the children had returned to her duplex that night shortly before the deadly sequence of events unfolded.
When Mangual pulled into the driveway, her car was blocking a car that reportedly belonged to a man who lived in the same duplex.
“He came outside and he said something, and she was like, ‘Who is he talking to?’ and I looked around and said, ‘Well, there ain’t anybody else out here,’” Glover told WJW.
The exchange grew increasingly heated, and at one point, the man called a relative, later identified as Casto.
Casto reportedly arrived at the scene armed with a handgun and confronted Mangual in her car. The confrontation exploded into a fatal onslaught as Casto discharged a volley of gunfire into Mangual’s car, according to Glover.
“He walked up to her driver’s door and he got the gun out and he cocked it back, and he said ‘(expletive), you’re threatening to kill my family,’ then bam, bam, bam, bam,” Glover said. “I mean, he just unloaded the clip. I was standing right there, I couldn’t scream, I couldn’t yell, I was just like, I was stuck.”
Tania and Jericho were fatally struck, and the car they were in rolled into a wooded area across the street and caught fire.
Then, Glover said Casto turned on her.
Chilling surveillance video showed Glover running for her life and hiding behind a car as Casto came after her.
“Oh my God, don’t do it, don’t do it!” Glover is heard yelling in the security video.
“No, you threatened my whole (expletive) family,” Casto responded.
“I didn’t say (expletive),” Glover replied.
“Nope,” Casto responded.
Glover said Casto fired one shot at her. The bullet missed her, but she felt it graze her hair. Still, she fell to the ground as if she’d been shot and played dead.
“I put my arm like this and he shot, but he missed, he missed,” Glover said. “I don’t know where (the bullet) went, but it went through my hair. I felt the wind of it, you know, like the whoosh. I don’t know where he went and then I was laying there. I was like ‘oh my God, he missed,’ but I played dead.”
When authorities arrived, Glover told them everything.
Investigators tracked down Casto, who fled more than 180 miles away to southern Ohio. He later surrendered himself to police in a county near the West Virginia border.
“At one point, he made numerous calls to friends and family to inform them about what he did. Those individuals called the police department,” Lt. Michael Murphy, the Akron Police Department Public Information Officer said.
Detectives also conducted a search warrant on an apartment connected to Casto, where they found multiple guns, accessories and a large collection of ammunition.
The Mangual family has launched a GoFundMe to raise funds for their funeral expenses.
“It just doesn’t make any sense. It’s senseless, it’s petty,” Glover said. “You killed a woman, you’re shooting at women and children. That’s one thing, and then you don’t care. I mean, you just don’t care.”
Akron city leaders released statements after the shooting.
“I am heartbroken by the tragic loss of a 47-year-old woman and her 12-year-old son in this devastating act of violence. My thoughts are with their loved ones during this unimaginable time, and I am grateful the infant present was not physically harmed,” Akron Mayor Shammas Malik said, per WKYC.
“This senseless act of violence left a mother and her 12-year-old son dead and has deeply impacted our community. Tragedies like this extend far beyond those directly involved and affect people throughout Akron,” said Akron Chief of Police Brian Harding.
The Barberton City Schools, where Jericho was a student, said the school system was on spring break when the shooting happened.
“Our thoughts are with the Mangual family and all those impacted by this heartbreaking tragedy. The Barberton City Schools family stands together in support, care, and compassion for everyone affected during this difficult time,” the district wrote in a statement.