CINCINNATI — An 11-year-old boy is dead and five others, including four juveniles, were injured Friday night in a shooting in the West End.
CPD Chief Teresa Theetge said the shooting happened at approximately 9:30 p.m. by Wade and Jones streets near Laurel Playground.
"This is absolutely unacceptable in our city," Theetge said Friday after the shooting. "Unacceptable."
#BREAKING: Massive police presence around Laurel Park downtown.
— Sean DeLancey (@SeanDeLanceyTV) November 4, 2023
Reports of a shooting in the area.
Multiple people on scene are calling out to police asking about their family members.@WCPO pic.twitter.com/FAvAbBGBVt
At a press conference Sunday, Theetge said a group of adults and children were playing near the location when 22 shots were fired into the crowd from an occupant in a dark sedan. She did not release any other suspect information but specified that CPD doesn't believe there are any threats to the public.
"No time to respond, no time to react," Mayor Aftab Pureval said at that press conference.
Other than the 11-year-old, a 12-year-old boy, 13-year-old boy, 15-year-old boy, 15-year-old girl and 53-year-old woman were also injured.
Three of the injured victims were taken to Cincinnati Children's Hospital while two were taken to UC Medical Center. One victim still remains in stable condition at the hospital, while the others have been discharged, Theetge said.
Of the children involved in the shooting, three went to Cincinnati Public Schools, while the other two, including the 11-year-old boy killed, were students at Cincinnati College Preparatory Academy, Theetge said.
The 11-year-old's family, including his father and mother, also attended Sunday's press conference.
"When will this stop? Will this ever stop?" asked Isaac Davis, the 11-year-old boy's father. "How many people need to bury their kids?"
On Saturday, friends and family remembered the boy as they set up a memorial.
"Our entire city is grieving," City Manager Cheryl Long said Sunday.
Long called on gun owners to be responsible and lock up their guns, for those that know where guns are to report them to CPD and more.
"This is not an act of god, this is not a natural disaster," Long said. "The devastation, the harm and the loss of life are a shock to us all, but they stem from actions of real people."
Pureval also said the city recognizes the issue of drive-by shootings, calling them "absolutely unacceptable."
Townda Chambers, a resident in the neighborhood, said she didn't see the shooting but heard it.
Chambers called the shooting and crime in West End "crazy" and "terrible," noting how just recently a woman was indicted for the murder of her baby in the neighborhood.
"I've been down here too long, it's time for me to move," Chambers told WCPO 9.
Theetge asked that those responsible for the shooting turn themselves in.
"To the person or persons responsible... turn yourself in. Turn yourself in," Theetge said. "Call a loved one, have them turn you in. Because if you don't we will find, and we will bring you to justice."
The investigation by CPD's Homicide Unit is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call the Homicide Unit at 513-352-3542.
