Aniaz Paradiso, a 16-year-old male of Hispanic/Latino ethnicity, died in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 28, 2025, after being shot in the early hours of Sunday morning. A student at Valley Forge High School in Parma Heights, he was remembered by school leaders as energetic and full of life, news that reached classmates and families through an email the following day as the community processed the sudden loss. An obituary posted by a local funeral home confirmed his age and date of death.
According to investigators and local reporting, the shooting unfolded shortly after a house gathering connected to an Airbnb, where a dispute moved into the street near West 130th Street and Lorain Avenue just after midnight. Police responding to reports of a fight and gunfire found the 16-year-old wounded; he did not survive. The setting—an ordinary weekend turning chaotic on the West Side—left neighbors and friends reeling as detectives began piecing together the sequence that led to the fatal shots.
Cleveland police later announced arrests in the case. A 35-year-old Cleveland man, Brandon Simpson, was taken into custody on a murder charge in connection with the killing of Aniaz Paradiso, 16, and an 18-year-old, Noah Gero, was also arrested in the investigation; initial charging information indicated Gero faced a count of carrying a concealed weapon while the broader probe continued. Authorities signaled that additional charges could follow as evidence is reviewed.
In the days that followed, classmates and relatives mourned the loss of Aniaz Paradiso, 16, sharing memories online and organizing support for his family. A memorial fundraising page described his hopes and the bonds he held close, and candles were lit in his name on community remembrance sites, marking both the private grief of loved ones and the public shock of another teen life cut short.
