NEWPORT, Ky. — Three juveniles were shot at Newport on the Levee Saturday evening, Newport police said.
Police on scene heard gunshots at around 7:20 p.m., finding three people with gunshot wounds near the main courtyard.
Two juveniles were transported to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, while the third was taken to St. Elizabeth. Police said all three are expected to be OK.
The ages and names of the victims have not yet been released.
“There were cops running up the steps, and one boy was down on the ground and another was sitting,” one witness said. “That’s when cops started blocking everything off and saying an active shooter situation.”
Inside the sprawling complex, bar patrons like Elizabeth Robinson took cover.
“Lines and lines of people started running through the Beeline bar,” Robinson said. “And then we were like ‘What’s going on? What’s going on?’ And I guess police were out there saying take cover.”
“We all squared down and all started praying together,” Robinson said about a moment she described as “traumatizing.”
“I have never been in an active shooting before, and I’ve never been so scared in my life,” she said. “I was asking God to put his light over us.”
Police had a large portion of the courtyard covered in crime scene tape Saturday night. Several officers spent hours looking through it for evidence.
Eva Kaiser was arriving to pick up her 18-year-old daughter who works at a business on the Levee. She said an officer told her she couldn’t go up.
“I want her out here, like right now,” she said.
Their embrace came about 90 minutes later.
“If I could, I would not let her come back here, but it’s not realistic,” she said. “You have to have a job to live.”
Detectives said they are still investigating and believe this is an isolated incident and not a random attack.
Police stated they do not believe the public is in danger because the shooter and victims likely knew one another.
Police have not yet named any suspects in this shooting.
Anyone with information on this shooting is asked to contact Campbell County Dispatch at 859-292-3622 and ask to speak with a detective. To remain anonymous, call the tip line at 859-261-TIPS (8477).
