An 11-year-old boy is dead and four other children were wounded in what officials described as a ‘sickening and unimaginable’ drive-by shooting that occurred in Cincinnati.
Police Chief Terri Theetge told reporters Sunday that an occupant of a sedan fired 22 rounds ‘in quick succession’ into a crowd of children just before 9:30 p.m.
The incident occurred in the city’s West End section. A 53-year-old woman was hit along with the boy who died; three other boys aged 12, 13 and 15; and a 15-year-old girl. One victim remained hospitalized in stable condition.
Two of the children were students at Cincinnati Preparatory Academy, three others were in the public school system.
The child who was killed has been named as Dominic Davis, a sixth grader at Cincinnati Preparatory Academy. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help his family through this time.
The young boy who was killed has been named as Dominic Davis, 11, pictured here on a GoFundMe page that has been set up for his family
One person has been killed and another five injured in a deadly shooting in Cincinnati on Friday night
The gunman opened fire just before 9.30pm, killing one and injuring the other victims, at least three of which were juveniles
Mayor Aftab Pureval called the shooting ‘sickening and unimaginable’ and said it occurred in a vibrant neighborhood next to a local park and near a historic elementary school.
‘Twenty-two rounds were fired,’ Pureval said. ‘Twenty-two rounds in a moment — into a crowd of kids. No time to respond. No time to react.’
Pureval said the neighborhood, which is full of young children, is suffering ‘unimaginable trauma.’
On Saturday and on Sunday morning, he said, people were ‘shouting messages of love and support to each other through open windows, but they were too wary to go outside.’
‘The parents, and the kids themselves we talked to, don’t feel safe, and I frankly can’t blame them,’ he said.
Theetge said it was too early to say whether the shooting was random or targeted, and she declined to discuss other aspects of the investigation.
She urged whoever was responsible to turn themselves in, vowing ‘we will find you and we will bring you to justice.’
Isaac Davis, the father of the slain child, was at the news conference along with the boy’s mother and grandmother and also urged whoever was responsible to come forward.
‘When will this stop? Will this ever stop?’ Davis asked. ‘How many people have to bury their kids, their babies, their loved ones?’
The mayor said 40 percent of the illegal weapons on the city’s streets were stolen from cars, and he and the city manager urged gun owners to lock up their weapons. He decried both the ubiquity of guns and the ‘inability to resolve differences peacefully.’
Police Chief Terri Theetge, shown here, told reporters Sunday that an occupant of a sedan fired 22 rounds ‘in quick succession’ into a crowd of children
According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, 2023 is ‘on track’ to be the most violent year in history for teenagers in the city.
Before Friday, 47 teens between the ages of 13 and 17 were shot. Following this most recent attack, 2023 is tied with previous record holder, 2009, which saw 50 teens hurt in shootings.
‘This is not an act of God; this is not a natural disaster. The devastation, the harm and the loss of life are a shock to us all, but they stem from actions of real people and they (are) enabled by access to guns,’ City Manager Sheryl Long told members of the media on Sunday.
‘Violence like this cannot be our status quo,’ she added.
On Sunday, a memorial was held in the West End section of the city where colorful balloons were let off around a memorial that has been set up for the 11-year-old boy who lost his life. A basketball at the shrine had: ‘#11 forever’ written across it.
‘He was the best kid ever. He didn’t do no wrong. He was smart in school, had plenty of friends. He was a good kid,’ his aunt Rosalind McFarland told Local 12.
‘This is unbelievable, [how] somebody can drive by and shoot children. What is this world coming to?,’ she added.