Thomas J. Lucas was 12 when he was found inside a residence on Ellis Avenue NE in Canton, Ohio, with a gunshot wound on the evening of January 9, 2026. Emergency responders took the sixth-grade student from Youtz Intermediate School to Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital, where he died of his injuries.

Family remembered Thomas as a beloved son, brother, and friend who enjoyed games, music, and throwing a football with his brother. His mother, Elizabeth Lucas, described him as loving, caring, humorous, and loyal. The day after the shooting, Thomas’s 15-year-old brother turned himself in to the Canton Police Department. A home-going celebration was planned at Wells of Joy Church, with interment at North Lawn Cemetery.

What did anyone in the neighborhood see or hear on Ellis Avenue NE the evening of January 9, 2026?