CINCINNATI — A teenager was killed early Sunday morning in Avondale, the Cincinnati Police Department said.
Police identified the victim as 15-year-old Nazir Owens.
At approximately 12:02 a.m. Sunday, officers were dispatched to the 800 block of Glenwood Avenue near Reading Road for reports of a shooting.
When officers arrived, they found Owens suffering from a gunshot wound. The Cincinnati Fire Department pronounced him dead at the scene.
No suspects have been identified in the shooting.
Owens has been listed missing on the Ohio Attorney General's missing persons website since 2024; he was apparently reported missing when he was 13. However, the Ohio Attorney General's Office told us they could not say whether Owens was missing before his death. The AG's office told us local law enforcement enters missing persons into their database.
WATCH: Community reacts to the shooting in Avondale
We reached out to Cincinnati police to ask whether Owens was considered missing in the two years before his death, but they have not clarified yet.
Monday, we spoke with Pastor Ennis Tait, a local advocate who works directly with youth in the community. Tait specifically focuses on keeping youth away from gun violence.
“So, when something like this happens, we feel the thunder of that incident as it ripples throughout our neighborhood," Tait said.
We have covered Tait's community work in the past.
“I represent the church. So, you got the church, you got the community, and then you have those individuals who are credible messengers," Tait said.
Tait told us about how he and his team speak to kids when someone their age is killed, specifically due to gun violence.
“We used to ask them how they were feeling, and we’ve learned through our trauma-informed care, training and all of the other supports we’ve created for the young people, through some of the collaboratives that we’ve done, we’ve learned to ask different kinds of questions," Tait said. "Some of those questions is, 'How can we support you in this time?'"
The Cincinnati Police Department's Homicide Unit is investigating the shooting. Anyone with information is asked to call them at 513-352-3542.
