Girl, 8, is shot and killed when 'all hell broke out' during a backyard birthday party for a teenager at an Ohio home
- Eight-year-old Mikayla Pickett was killed Saturday might during a birthday party
- The party was being held in backyard of an Akron home when gunmen arrived
- Witness said three or four people showed up and shot at family and friends
- Mikayla was found with a gunshot wound and rushed to hospital where she died
- No arrests have been made but Akron police are trying to identify the suspects
An 8-year-old girl was shot and killed during a backyard birthday party for a teenager at an Ohio home, authorities said.
Akron police said several shots were fired shortly before midnight Friday in the Sherbondy Hill neighborhood.
The child was found wounded and was taken to Akron Children's Hospital, where she later died, police said.
Authorities identified the girl Saturday as Mikayla Pickett, a student at Portage Path Community Learning Center, according to an Akron Public Schools spokesperson.
Eight-year-old Mikayla Pickett was shot dead while attending a backyard birthday party for a teenager at a home (pictured) in Akron, Ohio, Saturday night
The Summit County medical examiner's office will be conducting an autopsy.
Willie Walker, 62, told the Akron Beacon-Journal that he was hosting an outdoor birthday party for his 15-year-old grandson in his backyard when the shooting occurred.
Walker, who has lived at the home for 32 years, said he was inside when the gunfire started.
'All hell broke out,' he said. 'I don't know what the hell happened.'
Walker, who didn't know the child, said three or four people apparently showed up at the property and started shooting at family members and friends who were at the party.
Police officers found multiple shell casings at the scene, he said.
Another neighbor said that a couple of windows were shot out at the home of her son, who lives next door to her. The home where the shooting occurred is pictured
'I don't know know how many shells they took,' Walker said. 'A lot of them.'
Another neighbor said that a couple of windows were shot out at the home of her son, who lives next door to her.
No arrests were immediately reported as of Sunday morning, but authorities are working to identify suspects.
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