Police are searching for at least two suspects after nine people were wounded in a mass shooting during a chaotic scene in downtown Cincinnati early Sunday morning.
Police were called to Main Street in the city’s downtown to respond to reports of a disorderly crowd, Lt. Colonel Mike John of the Cincinnati Police Department said at a press conference Sunday.
Two groups started fighting as police were clearing the crowd, and at least two people involved in the fight pulled out guns and opened fire into the crowd, John told reporters.
A police officer fired at one of the shooters, who fled the scene. A second unidentified suspect then fired more shots, John said.
In total, eight men and one woman aged 23 to 47 sustained non life-threatening injuries. Police are asking anyone with information regarding the suspects to contact police.
Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval called Sunday’s gun violence “an absolute tragedy.”
“What took place last night was completely and totally unacceptable,” Pureval said. “The gun violence we are seeing in our community cannot and will not persist.”