CINCINNATI — After the Cincinnati Police Department (CPD) announced two arrests made in connection with Sunday's mass shooting at Riverfront Live, some witnesses are turning to police for mental health resources.
CJ Johnson, a witness to the mass shooting that injured nine people, said while he wasn't physically injured, mental scars linger.
"The music was still going. People (were) groaning or just making noises, screaming and stuff, but the gunshots superseded everything," Johnson said. "They almost superseded my inner thoughts because they were so loud and kept coming."
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Johnson said he went to the venue to celebrate a friend's graduation from nursing school. He was among hundreds of people inside Riverfront Live when gunfire erupted.
"We were setting up at our table, and probably (after) an hour of being in there, the shots rang out," Johnson said. "There was nowhere to go. Me and my friends and everybody were on top of each other."
Johnson said they were lying on the ground together when a person in their group was shot in the ankle, and he heard another woman scream, "I'm hit."
"When she said that 'I'm hit,' I got up. I got up and immediately ran out of there because I knew that I still got things that I want to do," Johnson said. "I still got things that I'm trying to see and experience in life, and I couldn't let my life die in that in that establishment."
We spoke with Johnson on Tuesday outside of CPD's District 3 headquarters. Johnson and over 20 others impacted by the shooting were utilizing a victim support services session offered by the Cincinnati Police Department's Victim Assistance Liaison Unit.
Karen Rumsey, health program manager of witness advocacy for CPD, is leading the outreach effort to those affected.
"Not even just the people in the club, but people who were in the club, their family that they went and told. Then you have the community that's now witnessed this and seen it," Rumsey said. "So you have that secondary trauma. Everybody gets impacted when violence happens in our community."
The support services include emotional support help from social workers, assistance with victim compensation applications and referrals to community resources for therapy and other needs, according to CPD.
"It feels like, 'Yes, I came to work and I can really help somebody and do a good job today,'" Rumsey said. "That's been a good feeling to see people come in and actually feel comfortable enough to allow somebody to hear their story."
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Rumsey said her team is helping survivors with a range of needs, from teaching calming techniques to address anxiety, to connecting people with the Ohio Attorney General's office for financial assistance if they lost property or wages due to time off.
"What I've heard a lot of people talk about today is just that feeling of unsafe, head on a swivel, and feeling really anxious," Rumsey said. "To know that somebody has been arrested should make us all feel just a little bit more safer tonight."
Waleia Larking, who also attended the session on Tuesday and has a family member who witnessed the shooting, praised the victim services response and said she hopes it becomes a standard practice after incidents like this one.
"I think that if this becomes the standard, that when we have a situation like this, that the city shows up in this type of force to say, 'Hey, we care,' that's an amazing program," Larkin said.
Larkin also said those impacted should seek help before trauma symptoms worsen.
"You're going to have individuals that may have panic attacks. They may start to have nightmares, certain sounds might set them off," Larkin said. "Do not try to deal with this on your own."
Larkin said the organization she interns for, Cincinnati Music and Wellness, is developing an empowerment drumming training program for gun violence survivors. The program pairs music therapy with a social worker and parenting support to create what Larkin described as a complete circle of trust for participants and their families.
CPD's Victim Assistance Liaison Unit will hold another outreach session from 2-6 p.m. Wednesday at CPD's District 4 headquarters, located at 4150 Reading Road. If you are unable to attend but are still looking for help, you can reach out to (513) 352-6421 to schedule an appointment.
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