9 injured in mass shooting at music venue in Cincinnati: What we know
By Emily Sanderson, Kurt Knue
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CINCINNATI (WLWT) — Nine people were taken to the hospital after a mass shooting occurred at a music venue in Cincinnati’s East End in the early hours of Sunday morning.
City officials say the search for a suspect or suspects remains ongoing, but have limited additional details so far on the investigation.
Here’s what we know:
Call for shots fired The first call came in around 1 a.m. for a report of a shooting at Riverfront Live along Kellogg Avenue. Interim Chief Adam Hennie says multiple shots were fired inside the venue.
Hennie says multiple detailed officers were stationed in the parking lot of the venue, allowing Cincinnati police to quickly respond to the disturbance.
Multiple people injured Hennie says roughly between 500-600 people were inside of the venue at the time shots rang out.
Police on scene tell us nine people suffered gunshot wounds. Most were transported afterward to University of Cincinnati Medical Center, with no deaths reported.
A spokesperson from UC Health told WLWT on Sunday they received eight patients in total from the shooting: six have been treated and released, two remain in stable condition.
One additional victim was transported from the scene to Good Samaritan Hospital.
Search for the shooter Police have said that no suspect or suspects have been apprehended yet in the case. Although no suspect information or details on what may have led up to the shooting have so far been released by police.
In the hours after the shooting, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) confirmed in a statement that they are assisting Cincinnati police in their investigation of the incident. The department says that they are “deploying all resources to identify those responsible and seek justice for the victims.”
The ATF is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to the identification and arrest of anyone responsible for the shooting.
Witnesses, owner speak out Tyra Moore, who was present at Riverfront Live when the shooting broke out, recounted what the scene was like at the venue.
“About time I think the first three shots went off, it was a quick pause. Everything stopped, it was like everybody froze,” recalled Moore. “Immediately, everybody started screaming and running. So you know, you want to get down and back off and run or get low or get out of harm’s way — but you don’t know where harm is coming from. You got people running at you, it’s dark as can be, it’s smoke everywhere. So my thing was, get low and try to duck from the gunshots.”
Another witness, who did not wish to be identified, said that the DJ at the venue didn’t even manage to start playing his first song before the shooting started.
“So we were waiting for the DJ to come out,” recounted the witness. “It was his birthday. He was performing, I guess just like a little DJ set. And then he didn’t play. He didn’t get through the first song. And then someone started shooting. We thought it was like a bottle popping at first, and then the rounds kept going. So then everybody just kind of ducked and just started running out the door. And then that’s when I fell. Everybody was kind of trampling over each other.”
The woman continued by saying that she heard at least 30 different rounds go off inside the venue.
Riverfront Live’s owner, Tim Jordan, also spoke to WLWT, saying that he is heartbroken by the tragedy.
“One, it was devastating that somebody got hurt while in my building,” said Jordan. “I mean to me personally, that someone would get hurt here — it’s not acceptable. I don’t even know how to go with it from there.”
Jordan continued by saying that he tries to provide as safe of an environment as possible for attendees to the venue.
“I mean, we do everything we can here,” said Jordan. “We have Narcan here, we have test strips for ketamine, defibrillators. We do everything we can to provide a safe environment. To have something like this happen is just beyond everything that we believe in.”
Mayor, city manager condemn “senseless” shooting Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval also reacted to the news of the shooting on Sunday morning, releasing a statement on X.
“Overnight in the East End, our community was victim to a senseless mass shooting. Thank you to the officers on site, the first responders for their immediate action, and all the hospital staff who worked to save lives this morning. This is unconscionable. Our prayers are with all the victims, and Law Enforcement has our full support to deliver justice. We will continue to keep the public up to date.”
Pureval later spoke at the city press conference, calling it a “dark moment for our community.”
“We will continue to hold these violent aggressors accountable,” Pureval said.
City Manager Sheryl Long also spoke at the press conference, sharing she’s “heartbroken” but “not shocked.”
Long then proceeded to call upon gun owners to do their part in practicing proper gun safety techniques to help prevent incidents of violence such as this. Among other things, Long said that gun owners should never take their weapons inside crowded entertainment venues and have a duty to act with the safety of others in mind when out in public.
When asked about plans to reduce high-profile shooting incidents in the city, Pureval said the city will continue to station units at public venues and continue to lean on its state and federal partnerships to respond to violence and get illegal guns off the street.
However, Pureval also said incidents like this also bring up a “real conversation about whether or not it’s too easy to get a gun in our community.”
Over the past few years, Cincinnati has tried to enact a number of its own gun safety laws, most of which were later struck down in court. This is due to state law in Ohio preventing local communities from passing their own individual laws around guns, meaning that any changes to gun laws in the city of Cincinnati likely would have to come from the state or federal level.
“It is a very challenging issue to solve,” Pureval added.
DJ releases statement The management team for DJ Fresh, who says that he was performing at Riverfront Live when the shooting broke out, released a statement in the hours afterward responding to what happened.
“We are devastated by the horrific events that took place during the DJ Fresh Birthday Celebration. Our hearts go out to the victims, their families, and everyone impacted by this senseless act of violence. This event was intended to be an opportunity for us to come together and enjoy great music; and have fun celebrating life, it is deeply frustrating that the actions of one individual ruined the evening for so many.”
“The safety of our patrons is our highest priority, and we are heartbroken that a place meant for joy and celebration was violated. Our community deserves the opportunity to gather and have fun without the threat of violence.”
The statement went on to note that security operations are typically the sole responsibility of venue owners, and are not something that DJ Fresh or his management oversees.
DJ Fresh also released a brief statement of his own after the shooting, saying that he was “saddened” by what unfolded, and that he gave his “prayers and support” to those impacted.
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