CINCINNATI -- James Able told his wife he was going to buy a pack of cigarettes. Minutes later, he was dead.
Able was gunned down on Green Street near Race Street in Over-the-Rhine Wednesday night. The case remains unsolved, and Able's family is asking for information on the killer and an end to violence.
The case is one of four fatal shootings over six days in OTR.
Mary Griffin-Able, Able's wife, asked the question, "Why?" over and over Tuesday.
"He didn't deserve to go like this here," she said.
Able's step-daughter, Tosha Griffin, said the whole family is hurting.
"We loved him truly, dearly," she said. "He was a gentle, kind, loving, supportive husband. He was the best step-father I could have known. I could call him for anything - he's there, no matter the hour, no matter the time."
Griffin joined a group of Over-the-Rhine residents marching against violence Tuesday. She was begging the public to help police crack the case.
"Please, please, if you have any information - it's not about being a snitch, it's about us working together as a community," Griffin said.
The Able family is no stranger to tragedy. They had cousins murdered in 2012 and 2013. But this hit much closer to home.
"This is something I've got to live with the rest of my life," Griffin-Able said. "I haven't had no sleep. I"m sick over all of this here. Only thing I got is my family - and the man up above - and my church family."
She's praying an arrest will be made soon.
"Whoever did it, they're going to pay," she said. "They're going to pay. They are a coward."
Police asked anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 513-352-3040.
