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.

CINCINNATI — Cincinnati's chief of police said more juveniles have been arrested for homicides this year than at any other time in his more than 30-year career.

Chief Eliot Isaac is retiring in early 2022, but noted the trend in his final months. As the city's homicides continue to tick up, so do the amount of juvenile arrests.

Kenneth Terrel Milner is Cincinnati's 75th homicide victim, shot and killed in Winton Terrace Thursday night. His father, Kenneth Elmer Milner, said his son was shot in the chest.

"My son ran in the house [and] grabbed a child, and he stood over my son and shot him twice – with the child in his arms," Milner said. "What kind of evil does that?"

The city has seen seven days of shootings, including one that resulted in the death of 16-year-old Javeir Randolph. Family said a car pulled up to Randolph as someone inside began shooting.

“His mom ran down there and was trying to do CPR on her son," said Nina Turner, Randolph's aunt. "Her son died in her arms. You know how hard that is? You got his blood on you and everything. Come on now. That's a hard feeling. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.”

The shooting was the second homicide in the neighborhood in two days. On Tuesday, 39-year-old Yarsellay Sammie died.

"Right now, we do need to be concerned," Isaac said.

Isaac said the increase in shootings is nationwide, but Cincinnati is noticing more juveniles with easy access to high-powered guns.

"We're not talking about some cheap old gun that belonged to Grandpa. We're talking about Glocks, AR-15s, we're talking abut sophisticated weapons," Isaac said. "We've taken over 1,300 guns off the street so far this year, more than any other year before, and yet we're still seeing what's occurring."

Cincinnati Police are still searching for a solution, Isaac said, even as the city invests more in youth programming than ever before.

"We can talk about programs, and there's a lot out there, but at the end of the day, when we're talking about juveniles, that starts at home," Isaac said. "Parents needs to be responsible for their kids. If you have 14- and 15-year-old kids that are out here committing violent crime, that begins at home. That has to start at home. There's no way to sugar-coat it."

Isaac said he is working with juvenile judges and the superintendent of Cincinnati Public Schools to address problems specific to juvenile crimes.

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CINCINNATI — A man died Wednesday after being shot in Roselawn, according to the Cincinnati Police Department.

In a news release early Thursday morning, officers with CPD's Homicide Unit said they were investigating the fatal shooting, which occurred around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday on the 1800 block of Losantiville Avenue. Upon arriving at the scene, emergency responders found 57-year-old Melvin Stanford suffering from a gunshot wound.

Crews transported Stanford to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, where he later died.

CPD's news release did not offer any information about a possible suspect in the incident, which Homicide Unit officers said was still ongoing Thursday morning.

WCPO will update this story.