Victim calls for help in Middletown shooting that killed one and injured 2

Middletown police cruiser. STAFF FILE PHOTO

Middletown police cruiser. STAFF FILE PHOTO

Middletown dispatchers received five calls early Sunday morning about a fatal shooting on Sheffield Street, including from a victim who said his brother was shot in the head.

Devonte Malachi Beverly, 19, died at the shooting scene where two others were injured, according to the Butler County Coroner’s Office. Beverly died of a gunshot wound, and his death has been ruled a homicide.

The drive-by shooting occurred about 3:25 a.m. in the 1700 block of Sheffield near Sheldon Avenue. The victims were shot while sitting in a car, according to police. The injured were taken to Atrium Medical Center for treatment and are expected to survive.

A male caller told dispatchers, “I was shot. Sheffield. I see cops, I see cops. I was shot in the leg, I think my brother was shot in the head.”

Four 911 calls were placed by residents awakened to sounds of gunshots.

A female calls said, “I smell gunpower in the air.”

One caller said he heard as many as 30 shots fired.

“Gunshots next door to us,” a female caller said, “We hit the floor.”

Detectives are continuing to investigate, but no arrests had been made as of Wednesday morning, according to Middletown Deputy Chief Earl Nelson.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact Detective Ken Mynhier 513-425-7720 or 513-425-7700.

Officers received other reports of shots fired overnight then in Middletown, including on Shafer Street, but investigators do not believe the incidents are related.

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