CINCINNATI — In what is called an "unprecedented" rise in violence, the Cincinnati Police Department released a statement about the four shootings that occurred in the city overnight that left two dead and three injured.
- One person was shot and killed at Hawaiian Terrace in Mt. Airy on Wednesday night.
- Two people were shot on Linn Street and were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
- One person was shot on West Liberty Street, but had non-life-threatening injuries.
- One person, Diantes Kemper, 42, was found shot on the 1200 block of West Galbraith Road early Thursday morning. He was pronounced dead at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
Both of last night's shooting deaths are being investigated as homicides, continuing an upward trend of gun deaths in the city.
"What we have seen in the past 30 days is unprecedented," Cincinnati police stated. "(The Cincinnati Police Department) is continuing to mobilize all of our resources and partnerships to address this violence. We are working with our federal partners like the ATF daily. We will seek federal prosecution for those responsible for our violence. Our message to those individuals committing these brazen crimes, we are coming after you."
Cincinnati Police Assistant Chief Lisa Davis said in a video addressing last night's shootings, the city is inching toward the same number of homicides that occurred in 2020 when there were 82. Cincinnati has had over 70 so far in 2021.
Davis, who runs the department's investigative bureau, said the police department has put a working group in place to deal with the rise in gun violence.
"When looking at numbers, we certainly don't want to compare to 2020, but we are slowly reaching those levels," Davis said in a video statement. "Again, this type of violence won't be tolerated."
Mt. Airy: One dead in shooting at Hawaiian Terrace
West Galbraith: Police investigating early morning homicide
Gun violence has become the biggest issue in the city. Mayoral candidates Aftab Pureval and David Mann addressed the rise in shootings during a debate on Oct. 12. The debate, held at the Warsaw Federal Incline Theater in East Price Hill, was three-and-a-half miles from a triple-shooting that occurred the night before that left two dead. Cincinnati's City Council Neighborhood Committee held a special session the next week to address the violence, but the shootings haven't abated.
Davis said the department is asking for more community involvement, and asked anyone with information on shootings to call Crime Stoppers or use TIP411.
"Everyone deserves a safe neighborhood," Davis said. "We get there through the intelligence portion and the enforcement portion, but the largest part in how we do get there is through community partnership. When we come together against this violence, that's when we end this violence."
Residents can send information to the department through the TIP411 website, or they can call Crime Stoppers at 513-352-3040.
