Photo: Scott Rodgerson|Unsplash
At least nine people were injured in a shooting outside Mr. Pitiful's bar in Over-the-Rhine at around 1:45 a.m. Aug. 7, 2022, the Cincinnati Police Department says.
At least nine people were injured in a shooting on Over-the-Rhine's Main Street in the early hours of Aug. 7, says Cincinnati Police Assistant Chief Michael John.
In a briefing that's been posted to CPD's Facebook page, John says the shooting happened around 1:45 a.m. outside Mr. Pitiful's bar. John says the suspect fired into in a crowd of people on Main Street, an area where many pedestrians gather on a typical Saturday night.
"Some of this information I have is very preliminary because we're still trying to gather information on exactly how many people were struck by gunfire. Right now, what I can tell you is we have nine people that we know of that were struck with gunfire originating likely from this scene here. But we did have another shooting somewhere else – in the Central Business [District] – where we had two other individuals shot
John says one of the responding officers fired one round at the suspect, who fled the scene. Police do not know if the suspect was struck by the round but say the suspect "was actively shooting his firearm at that time." John says that CPD will conduct an internal investigation into the officer's actions, as will the Citizen Complaint Authority.
"It is a little unusual that we do not know for a certainty weather the individual that the officer fired at was struck or not," John says.
Main Street was blocked off Sunday morning as police investigated. Reports indicate the street reopened around at 8:30 a.m.
The nine people who were shot are said to be in non-critical condition. Police say responding officers applied tourniquets to victims at the scene before they were transported to area hospitals.
"Today's events are completely and totally unacceptable," Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval says in a morning statement. "The use of guns to solve disputes cannot become a normal part of our culture. I want to express the City's gratitude to the officers on the scene. Their quick response likely saved many more from injury and prevented the loss of life."
An investigation into the shooting is ongoing. Police are requesting those with information to call the criminal investigations section at 513-352-3542.
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