3 juveniles, 1 adult hospitalized after shooting near park in Over-the-Rhine

NEWS. AND WE CONTINUE TO LEAD THE WAY ON. BREAKING NEWS FROM OVER THE RHINE. 59 EVIDENCE MARKERS LINING THE STREET TONIGHT AFTER GUNFIRE RINGS OUT, STRIKING FOUR PEOPLE, INCLUDING THREE CHILDREN. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. I’M CHRIS JACOBS. AND I’M ASHLEY KIRKLEN. POLICE CONFIRMING WITH US TONIGHT THAT THOSE CHILDREN WERE AS YOUNG AS TEN YEAR OLD. AND WE ARE JUST WALKING DOWN THE STREETS. THEY WERE WE DO HAVE A TEAM OF REPORTERS LIVE NEAR THE SCENE. WE BEGIN WITH WLWT NEWS 5 LINDSEY STONE, WHO IS AT MAIN STREET AND LANGE. AND LINDSEY, YOU’VE BEEN THERE SINCE NEARLY THE BEGINNING OF WHEN THIS HAPPENED. CAN YOU TELL US WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW? WELL, THESE CONFIRM WITH US THAT A TEN YEAR OLD, A 14 YEAR OLD, A 15 YEAR OLD AND AN ADULT MAN, PERHAPS ODDLY AROUND 25 YEARS OLD, WERE SHOT. NOW I’M GOING TO STEP OUT OF THE WAY. YOU CAN SEE THE SCENE HAS CLEARED, BUT RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET, THERE’S STILL GLASS. AND I EVEN SAW A FRAGMENT OF A BULLET OF SOME SORT OF, YOU KNOW, SHRAPNEL THAT’S HERE AT THE SCENE. AS I MENTIONED, THE SCENE IS NOW CLEARING. BUT JUST A LITTLE WHILE AGO, THIS WAS VERY, VERY ACTIVE, MULTIPLE AGENCIES HERE ON THE SCENE. NOW, AGAIN, WE’RE TOLD THE INJURIES ARE NON-LIFE THREATENING. THE JUVENILES HAVE BEEN TRANSPORTED TO CINCINNATI CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL, BUT THIS HAPPENED IN A VERY RESIDENTIAL AREA. MULTIPLE PEOPLE OUTSIDE WHEN THIS HAPPENED. I ACTUALLY SPOKE TO A WOMAN WHO WAS SITTING ON HER PORCH AND SHE THOUGHT WHAT SHE HEARD WAS FIREWORKS. SHE THOUGHT MAYBE THERE WAS A REDS GAME IN TOWN. AND SO SHE THOUGHT IT WAS JUST FIREWORKS. SHE HEARD SEVERAL NO KIND OF BACK TO BACK. THEN A PAUSE AND SEVERAL MORE. AND SO SHE SAID SHE DIDN’T REALLY REALIZE WHAT HAD HAPPENED UNTIL SHE HEARD SO MANY SIRENS RESPONDING OUTSIDE. NOW, THIS HAPPENED IN BROAD DAYLIGHT. POLICE TELLING US THESE CHILDREN WERE JUST WALKING OUTSIDE WHEN THIS HAPPENED. THE POLICE CHIEF TELL US THIS KIND OF VIOLENCE IS NOT TOLERATED IN OUR CITY. I DON’T CARE WHO YOU ARE. YOU SHOULD NOT TOLERATE THIS KIND OF BEHAVIOR IN OUR CITY. IN BROAD DAYLIGHT, FOLKS, THESE WERE CHILDREN WALKING DOWN THE STREET. THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE FOR SOMEBODY TO THINK THEY COULD DRIVE DOWN THE STREET, FIRE THIS MANY ROUNDS AND JUST KEEP DRIVING AND THINK THEY’RE GOING TO GET AWAY WITH IT. THEY ARE NOT GOING TO GET AWAY WITH THIS. NOW, POLICE SAY THEY’RE NOT SURE IF THIS WAS TARGETED. THEY ALSO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO REVIEW SOME OF THE SURVEILLANCE VIDEO FROM THIS AREA AND THEY’RE NOT SURE IF THE JUVENILES AND THE MAN WERE TOGETHER. THEY DON’T BELIEVE THAT THEY WERE. BUT AGAIN, THEY’RE TRYING TO FIGURE THIS OUT RIGHT NOW. AGAIN, THIS ALL HAPPENED WITH CHILDREN. SCHOOL JUST GOT OUT. AND SO POLICE ARE ASKING THE PUBLIC IF YOU ARE A GUARDIAN OR A PARENT, KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON YOUR KIDS. REPORTING HERE OVER THE RHINE, LINDSEY STONE AT WLWT NEWS 5 LINDSEY. WE WE CAN’T SAY THAT ENOUGH KIDS WERE SHOT HERE TODAY, THREE OF THEM. WHAT’S THE MESSAGE FOR PARENTS AS SUMMER BREAK BEGINS, AS YOU SAID, AND STUDENTS ARE JUST TRYING TO ENJOY THEIR SUMMER OFF? YEAH, POLICE ARE JUST SAYING IF THEY’RE NOT ENROLLED IN SOME KIND OF AFTERSCHOOL ACTIVITY TO GET THEM INVOLVED AND JUST KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON THEM. OBVIOUSLY, THERE’S SO MANY QUESTIONS AS TO WHY THIS HAPPENED OR WHAT HAPPENED HERE. BUT AGAIN, POLICE ARE ASKING GUARDIANS TO KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON YOUR KIDS, HAVE A WAY FOR THEM TO GET IN TOUCH WITH YOU. GOD FORBID SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENS AGAIN. JUST A HORRIBLE SITUATION. ASHLEY, THIS IS IN BROAD DAYLIGHT. THREE KIDS JUST WALKING ON THE STREET. SO OBVIOUSLY A LOT OF ANGRY PARENTS TUNING IN RIGHT NOW. WE’RE GOING TO TRY TO GET MORE ANSWERS. WE’LL UPDATE YOU AS SOON AS WE LEARN MORE. BUT AGAIN, FOR NOW HERE IN OVER-THE-RHINE, LINDSEY STONE AT WLWT NEWS 5. THANKS SO MUCH, LINDSEY AND WLWT NEWS 5 JATARA MCGEE IS ALSO ON THE SCENE RIGHT NOW. YEAH, AND JITTERY. YOU ACTUALLY JUST SPOKE TO SOMEONE WHO HAD A CLOSE CALL WITH SOME OF THESE SUSPECTS. THE TERROR. YEAH. AND CHRIS AND ASHLEY, I’LL GET TO THAT IN JUST ONE MOMENT. I WANT TO TELL YOU, THOUGH, THIS SEARCH FOR THESE SUSPECTS, THE SHOOTERS WHO OPENED FIRE ON SEVERAL PEOPLE TODAY, HITTING AT LEAST FOUR OF THEM, IS VERY ACTIVE AT THIS POINT. I WANT TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF THIS AREA, THE SHOOTING, OF COURSE, HAPPENING RIGHT NEAR GRANT PARK. YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE LINING THE SIDEWALKS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE STREET. THAT IS VERY TYPICAL FOR THIS AREA. THIS PART OF OVER-THE-RHINE. SO YOU CAN IMAGINE WHEN THIS GUNFIRE, WHEN THIS SHOOTING HAPPENED JUST A COUPLE OF HOURS AGO, THERE WERE PEOPLE SCRAMBLING, TRYING TO GET TO SAFETY. AND UNFORTUNATELY, THREE KIDS GETTING CAUGHT UP IN THE MIX. I ALSO WANT TO POINT OUT THAT THE PARK THAT I’M STANDING IN RIGHT NOW IS EMPTY. IT IS AN EVENING ON A SUMMER DAY. CPS SCHOOL IS OUT FOR THE SUMMER AND THERE WAS NO ONE IN THIS PARK BECAUSE A LOT OF THE KIDS WHO LIVE IN THIS AREA, THEIR PARENTS ARE AFRAID TO HAVE THEM COME HERE BECAUSE OF THINGS LIKE THIS. YOU KNOW, I SPOKE WITH SOMEONE WHO WAS DRIVING THROUGH THE AREA. SHE HAD HER THREE KIDS IN THE CAR. SHE SAW THE SHOOTER’S CAR STOP HER VEHICLE WAS HIT IN THE PROCESS. I’M GOING TO SHOW YOU THOSE IMAGES LATER TONIGHT. BUT SHE SAYS IT WAS THE SCARIEST THING THAT’S EVER HAPPENED TO HER, HER 11 MONTH OLD BABY WAS IN THAT CAR AND SHE SAID SHE SAW ONE SHOOTER FIRING OUT OF THE SUNROOF, ANOTHER FIRING OUT OF THE WINDOW WITH A SEMIAUTOMATIC OR AUTOMATIC WEAPON. POLICE NOW HONING IN ON THOSE SUSPECTS PERSONAL CARS OR APARTMENTS AND LOOK OUT FOR A STOLEN VEHICLE. A 2017 HYUNDAI SONATA FOUR BLACK IN COLOR WITH A KENTUCKY TEMP TAG. A BOY. 908951 VEHICLE HAS TINTED WINDOWS, BLACK RIMS, A SILVER STRIPE ON THE BOTTOM NEAR THE RUNNING BOARD DOES HAVE A PINK RIBBON RUNNING THROUGH THE TAG VEHICLE. IS POSSIBLY USED IN A FELONIOUS ASSAULT. 1645 WALNUT AND SAYING THIS ONE ASSUME ALL OCCUPANTS ARE ARMED AND DANGEROUS. AND AGAIN, THAT DESCRIPTION VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE A LOT OF THE TIME WE DON’T GET THAT INFORMATION RIGHT AWAY. POLICE DON’T EVEN GET THAT INFORMATION RIGHT AWAY. SO THEY WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW TO BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THAT VEHICLE. SO, AGAIN, THE WITNESS DESCRIBING ONE PERSON SHOOTING OUT OF THE SUNROOF, ANOTHER OUT OF THE WINDOW AND HAVING SOME PRETTY INTENSE WEAPONRY HERE. I ALSO WANT TO MENTION THAT THERE ARE COMMUNITY ADVOCATES THAT SHOW UP TO THESE THINGS. ALL OF THE TIME. MANY THAT YOU HEARD FROM, IF YOU WERE WATCHING WLWT EARLIER THIS EVENING, WAYNE, LET ME KNOW ABOUT AN EVENT THAT’S COMING UP JUST THIS FRIDAY IS SPONSORED BY THE URBAN LEAGUE. IT’S A RESOURCE DAY HERE IN THE PARK. IT’S FROM 10 A.M. TO 3 P.M., TRYING TO BRING HOPE AND HELP TO THIS AREA AND TO PEOPLE WHO NEED JOBS AND MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCE IS THESE ARE THE EFFORTS THAT ARE GOING ON SIMULTANEOUSLY AS NOW A CHAOTIC EVENING HAS JUST UNFOLDED AND POLICE ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHO DID IT. REPORTING LIVE TONIGHT, JATARA MCGEE WLWT JETER. I KNOW WE’RE STILL LOOKING FOR THAT CAR. ANY WORD FROM WITNESSES ON WHAT THE PEOPLE WHO WERE IN THAT CAR OR A PERSON MAY HAVE LOOKED LIKE OR WHO POLICE MIGHT BE LOOKING FOR? A MALE FEMALE? THAT’S A GOOD QUESTION, ASHLEY. AND I WOULD SAY THAT THAT’S THE FIRST QUESTION THAT POLICE ASK THEM. I WILL SAY THE WOMAN I SPOKE WITH DESCRIBED, SHE SAID, MEN, BUT YOU KNOW, OFTENTIMES WHEN YOU’RE IN THIS TRAUMATIC SITUATION, SHE SHE SAID THEY MIGHT SHE THOUGHT THAT THEY MIGHT BE KIDS. OFTENTIMES WHEN YOU’RE IN THESE TRAUMATIC SITUATIONS, YOU’RE NOT THINKING ABOUT REMEMBERING WHAT YOU SAW. YOU’RE ALSO TRYING TO TAKE COVER. AND THE TRAUMA KICKS IN, TOO. SO SOMETIMES THE DESCRIPTIONS AREN’T ACCURATE ANYWAY. SO SHE BELIEVED IT MIGHT BE TWO, MAYBE TEEN BOYS, BUT POLICE, OF COURSE, TRYING TO FIGURE THAT OUT AND GET A BETTER GLIMPSE OF EXACTLY WHO THEY ARE. ALL RIGHT. HOPEFULLY POLICE CAN COME TO AN END OF THIS INVESTIGATION VERY SOON. JATARA MCGEE LIVE FOR US IN OCR. THANKS SO MUCH. JUST HERE IN THE TEN, 14 AND 15 YEAR OLDS WERE TAKEN TO CINCINNATI CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL FOR TREATMENT. AND THAT’S WHERE WE FIND WLWT NEWS 5 BRIAN HAMRICK LIVE. BRIAN, YOU JUST SPOKE WITH A FAMILY MEMBER OF ANOTHER JUVENILE WHO SAYS HE WAS ACTUALLY GRAZED IN THE SHOOTING. YEAH, WELL, A LOT OF THE VICTIMS CAME HERE, AS YOU GUYS TALKED ABOUT. WE WERE HERE ON ANOTHER STORY AND WE SAW THE POLICE AND THE AMBULANCES COMING IN HERE. THERE WERE THREE OR FOUR POLICE OFFICERS HERE. CRIME SCENE UNIT WAS HERE AS WELL. AND THE AMBULANCES CAME UP THIS WAY. AND SO WE RAN INTO ONE OF THE FOLKS, THE MOTHERS OF ONE OF THESE VICTIMS. SHE SAID HER SON, 12 YEARS OLD, WAS GREAT BY A BULLET. SHE SAID IT GRAZED HIS HEAD. SO THAT’S WAY CLOSER THAN YOU EVER WANT TO BE TO A BULLET IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS. OF COURSE, THE FAMILIES ARE UPSET. THEY WERE HERE TRYING TO JUST MAKE SURE EVERYBODY WAS OKAY. HER SON, SHE SAID, WAS OKAY, BUT EVERYONE VERY SHAKEN UP AND STILL MORE VICTIMS WHO ARE IN HERE WITH MORE SERIOUS INJURIES BEING TREATED AT THIS HOUR. REPORTING LIVE, BRIAN HAMRICK WLWT NEWS 5. ALL RIGHT, BRIAN. AND OF COURSE, YOU MENTIONED HOW LUCKY THESE FAMILIES ARE, BUT ARE THEY GOING TO DO ANYTHING GOING FORWARD IN TERMS OF PRECAUTION OR TRYING TO KEEP THEMSELVES SAFE? WELL, YOU KNOW, IT’S ONE OF THOSE THINGS YOU KNOW, WHAT’S A PARENT TO TRY AND DO ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THIS? IT’S SO RANDOM. THESE KIDS ARE PLAYING IN A NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE THEY FEEL COMFORTABLE BEING AND ALL OF A SUDDEN GUNFIRE RINGS OUT. IT CAN HAPPEN ANYWHERE. YOU KNOW, IT’S JUST A SHAME THAT YOU GOT TO, YOU KNOW, NOW TEACH YOUR KIDS ABOUT WHAT TO DO WHEN SOMEONE OPENS UP GUNFIRE AND HOW TO HIDE AND HOW TO GET AWAY. YEAH. BRIAN ALL RIGHT. OF COURSE, AS YOU MENTIONED, A LOT OF RANDOMNESS TO ALL OF THIS. AND THAT’S THE SCARIEST PART. THANK YOU SO MUCH. WE’LL CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THIS BREAKING NEWS THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT HERE ON AI

Police: 3 juveniles, 1 adult hospitalized after shooting near park in Over-the-Rhine

Updated: 10:02 PM EDT May 31, 2023

Four people were taken to the hospital, including three juveniles, after a drive-by shooting near a park in Over-the-Rhine Wednesday. Police responded to the scene near Grant Park shortly after 4:30 p.m. A heavy police presence could be seen stretching for several blocks in the area.See latest update from police in video player belowCincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge said the victims include an adult male in his 20s and three juveniles, ages 10, 14 and 15. The man was taken to UC Hospital, the juveniles were taken to Children's Hospital.Theetge said the victim's injuries are non-life-threatening. "We as a city, I don't care who you are, you should not tolerate this kind of behavior in this city, in broad daylight," Theetge said. "They are not going to get away with this."Police are searching for a Black, 4-door Hyundai with black tinted windows. The car has a Kentucky temporary license plate tag of B90895.Theetge said more than one shooter was in the vehicle. Theetge said the shooting may have been targeted. Theetge said it doesn't appear the juveniles and adult were together and that the three juveniles were walking down the street when it happened. "This will not be tolerated. Not in Cincinnati," Theetge said. East McMicken Avenue is currently closed between Corwine Avenue and Frintz Street. Walnut Street is closed between Moore Street and East McMicken Avenue. At least 50 evidence markers line the streets, Theetge said. "I just heard the gunshots, sounded like fireworks. And I just saw people running," witness Stefan Pryor said. Police are asking for anyone with information to call police at 513-352-3040.

CINCINNATI —

Four people were taken to the hospital, including three juveniles, after a drive-by shooting near a park in Over-the-Rhine Wednesday.

Police responded to the scene near Grant Park shortly after 4:30 p.m. A heavy police presence could be seen stretching for several blocks in the area.

See latest update from police in video player below

Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge said the victims include an adult male in his 20s and three juveniles, ages 10, 14 and 15. The man was taken to UC Hospital, the juveniles were taken to Children's Hospital.

Theetge said the victim's injuries are non-life-threatening.

"We as a city, I don't care who you are, you should not tolerate this kind of behavior in this city, in broad daylight," Theetge said. "They are not going to get away with this."

Police are searching for a Black, 4-door Hyundai with black tinted windows. The car has a Kentucky temporary license plate tag of B90895.

Theetge said more than one shooter was in the vehicle. Theetge said the shooting may have been targeted. Theetge said it doesn't appear the juveniles and adult were together and that the three juveniles were walking down the street when it happened.

"This will not be tolerated. Not in Cincinnati," Theetge said.

East McMicken Avenue is currently closed between Corwine Avenue and Frintz Street.

Walnut Street is closed between Moore Street and East McMicken Avenue.

At least 50 evidence markers line the streets, Theetge said.

"I just heard the gunshots, sounded like fireworks. And I just saw people running," witness Stefan Pryor said.

Police are asking for anyone with information to call police at 513-352-3040.