CINCINNATI -- A Cincinnati Fire Department sport-utility vehicle was shot after midnight Saturday in the Millvale neighborhood, the fire union's leader said.
Matt Alter, president of International Association of Fire Fighters Local 48, said the department would have a police escort in the neighborhood for a while.
Alter said firefighters responded to the Mill Creek area for a report of an entrapment, but they did not find anything.
Police said there were gunshots as firefighters were returning to the station. A bullet hit the back of the district chief's SUV, Alter said. The district chief wasn't injured.
According to police, a group of teenagers ran from the area.
"It certainly is scary," Alter said.
Police are investigating the shooting as a felonious assault.
Cincinnati City Council approved $264,000 last year so the fire department could buy new bulletproof vests. That was after bullets whizzed by a medic on Kenton Street near McGregor Avenue in July 2016.
About eight months later, a man in Northside shot at firefighters who'd come to his home to check on him. The man's friends grew concerned when he didn't answer his door and called for help. Prosecutor Joe Deters called the gunfire a result of a "misunderstanding," because the man thought the firefighters were intruders. He wasn't charged.
If you have any information on the Millvale shooting, police are asking you to call Crime Stoppers at 513-352-3040. You can also submit an online tip at TIP411.com.
Police say information which results in an arrest may lead to a reward of $1,000.
