An 11-year-old boy is dead and four other children were injured in what officials described as a “sickening and unimaginable” drive-by shooting that occurred in Cincinnati.
Police Chief Terri Theetge told reporters on Sunday that a sedan occupant fired 22 shots in “quick succession” into a crowd of children just before 9:30 p.m.
The incident took place in the West End section of the city. A 53-year-old woman was hit along with the deceased boy; 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, while three others were in the public school system.
The murdered child’s name is Dominic Davis, a sixth-grader at Cincinnati Preparatory Academy. a GoFundMe page was set up to help his family through this time.
The young boy who was killed is named Dominic Davis, 11, pictured here on a GoFundMe page set up for his family
One person was killed and five others were injured in a fatal shooting in Cincinnati on Friday evening
The gunman opened fire just before 9:30 p.m., killing one and wounding the other victims, at least three of whom were youths.
Mayor Aftab Pureval called the shooting “sickening and unimaginable” and said the shooting took place in a vibrant neighborhood next to a local park and near a historic elementary school.
“Twenty-two bullets were fired,” Pureval said. ‘Twenty-two rounds in one moment – in a crowd of children. No time to react. No time to react.’
Pureval said the neighborhood, which is full of young children, is suffering from “unimaginable trauma.”
On Saturday and Sunday mornings, he said, “people shouted messages of love and support to each other through open windows, but they were too hesitant to go outside.”
“The parents, and the children themselves that we’ve spoken to, don’t feel safe, and I honestly 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 those responsible to turn themselves in and vowed “we will find you and bring you to justice.”
Isaac Davis, the father of the murdered child, was at the news conference along with the boy’s mother and grandmother and also urged those responsible to come forward.
‘When will this stop? Will this ever stop?’ Davis asked. “How many people have to bury their children, their babies, their loved ones?”
The mayor said 40 percent of illegal guns on city streets were stolen from cars, and he and the city manager urged gun owners to put away their weapons. He denounced both the ubiquity of weapons and the “inability to resolve differences peacefully.”
Police Chief Terri Theetge, pictured here, told reporters Sunday that a sedan occupant fired 22 bullets “in rapid succession” into a crowd of children
According to the Cincinnati researcher, 2023 is ‘on track’ to be the most violent year in history for teenagers in the city.
Before Friday, 47 teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 were shot dead. After this most recent attack, 2023 is on par with the previous record holder, 2009, when 50 teenagers were injured in shootings.
“This is not an act of God; this is not a natural disaster. The destruction, damage and loss of life are a shock to all of us, but they come from the actions of real people and are made possible by access to guns,” City Manager Sheryl Long told media on Sunday.
“This kind of violence cannot be our status quo,” she added.
A memorial service was held in the West End section of the city on Sunday, where colorful balloons were released around a memorial erected for the 11-year-old boy who was killed. A basketball at the shrine had “#11 forever” written on it.
‘He was the best kid ever. He hasn’t done anything wrong. He was smart at school and had a lot of friends. He was a good kid,” his aunt Rosalind McFarland said Room 12.
“This is unbelievable, (how) someone can drive by and shoot children. Where is this world going?,” she added.