A 17-year-old teenager was discovered battered to death outside a high school in Ohio built by LeBron James.
On June 2, 2022, Ethan Liming, 17, died near the basketball courts of the I Promise School in Akron.
His murder is being investigated by police, although no arrests have been made.
Meanwhile, Bill Liming, his bereaved father, is pleading with anyone with information regarding his son’s death to come forward.
‘We require someone who is courageous and self-assured.’ We require your assistance in assisting our son. Bill told Fox 8: ‘We need your aid to help our family.’
He also chastised the school for its ‘grossly deficient’ security, warning other parents that their children would not be safe there.
‘I know we’ve been persuaded to feel it’s a secure and safe environment, but it isn’t,’ he said. ‘It isn’t safe,’ he stated. ‘The cameras they have are woefully inadequate.’
The teen died of a blunt force head injury, according to an autopsy.
He may have been killed after his pals went around blasting water guns at individuals, according to police.
Liming was riding around with his companions when one or two of them allegedly used a Splatrball Water Bead Blaster – a form of water pistol – against ‘unsuspecting people,’ according to police.
According to police, the car of teenagers then drove toward a group of males who were playing basketball at the school and fired the soft gel gun at them, resulting in a fight.
The youths in the car’s collective actions appear to have ‘sadly precipitated the altercation,’ according to police.
‘At this point, there is no evidence to suggest the act was in any way ethnically motivated,’ police said.
‘This was just another needless act of violence in our community,’ said Chief Stephen Mylett. ‘This city, like the rest of the country, has a lot of work to do.’
This week, police also stated that they have footage of the event, but declined to provide more details at this time.
Following the murder of a teen on the grounds of his I Promise School, NBA star LeBron James requested his 51 million Twitter followers to ‘pray for our community.’
He tweeted, ‘Our condolences go out to the family who has lost a dear one.’ ‘(May) the gods above keep a watchful eye on you during this terrible ordeal!
‘Pray for our neighborhood!’
The LeBron James Family Foundation and Akron Public Schools collaborated on the school. The 25th of May was the last day of classes.
Liming’s family and friends met over the weekend to mourn the adolescent and to ask on anyone with knowledge on the suspects to come forward, according to the Akron Beacon Journal.
‘Ethan was everything,’ says the narrator. He was a fine young man. He was a bright young man. He was enthralled with life. He adored being alive. ‘He wanted to be friends with everyone,’ Jennifer Liming, his mother, said. ‘Ethan was colorblind. He noticed hearts. He was simply such a kind guy.
‘Please assist us in locating these individuals,’ she said. ‘It’s just that I miss him so much.’ ‘I wish he could be here.’
Bill Liming, Liming’s father, informed the newspaper that he was battling for his life.
He responded, ‘He was battling for his life.’ ‘A third person approached him from behind and swamped him. They then knocked him out and threw him to the ground. His buddies attempted to assist him.’
He claimed that his friends attempted but failed to drive the other group away.
‘Three African American guys and a female who stood by and did nothing murdered my son Ethan Liming,’ Bill Liming claimed.
‘We live in a sick world,’ says the narrator. People judge one other based on their skin color or the fact that they disagree with each other.
And you must be evil because you disagree with me,’ he added. ‘And because we have dehumanized one another in our culture, my kid was murdered.’ Some people looked at him as if he didn’t have a life. And it makes our hearts break. We don’t want this to happen to another family’s child.’
On social media, the LeBron James Family Foundation issued the following statement expressing condolences:
‘To us, our community is everything. We were heartbroken to learn of the midnight event near our school in which a life was lost. We are saddened by yet another senseless act of violence in our neighborhood.
We continue to do everything we can to support our students, families, and the entire Akron community, and our campus is safe and secure.’
The day following the incident, Superintendent Christine Fowler Mack sent an email to faculty and employees that read:
‘Our Akron Public Schools community sends its heartfelt sympathies and prayers to the family and friends of a student who died last night. Ethan Liming, a 17-year-old rising senior at Firestone Community Learning Center, has died. Ethan was in the Academy of Design at his school and was a student leader.
The loss of a kid has an impact on the whole Akron Public Schools system. Ethan’s death is one of several that we have had to deal with this school year. May we all take a moment to give thankfulness for the lives of these youngsters as we go about our regular lives.
May we always find methods to keep their memory alive. Each of these tragedies serves as a reminder of how precious and fleeting life can be.
Our crisis team is aiding Firestone CLC staff and will, as always, be available to kids.’