CINCINNATI (WXIX) – Nine people are injured following an early Sunday mass shooting at a music venue on Cincinnati’s east side.
The shooting happened shortly before 1 a.m. at 4343 Kellogg Ave., the location of Riverfront Live.
Video from the security cameras at a nearby business shows a crowd running out of the venue after the first shots were fired inside.
Police said they think all nine victims will recover. Officers confirmed the incident is isolated and there is no ongoing threat to the public.
“This investigation is still ongoing,” Cincinnati police said around 3:30 a.m. Sunday. No suspect description has been released.
Venue was hosting a birthday party, post says
Riverfront Live, a 16-and-over music venue in the East End, was hosting a birthday party that began at 10 p.m. Saturday, according to an Instagram post from DJ Fresh.
Antoinette Coates says her 35-year-old son is among the victims injured in the shooting. She said her son was shot four times, but he is expected to be okay.
“If you’re going to be having these parties, protect your people,” Coates emphasized. “Evidently, they’re letting people in without searching them, and they’re letting guns in, or they’re letting people bring guns, but I could have lost my son because somebody is being too cheap or too careless.”
Angel Potts, the mother of a 25-year-old victim, said her daughter was with a group of friends celebrating a friend’s birthday when the shooting began.
“She was leaving the bathroom and there was a few people in front of her and that’s when they started hearing the gunshots,” Potts said. “And then she said they just dropped down and some of them went running and she went running towards the door and went out of the door and jumped the fence and went across to a United Dairy Farmer.”
Potts said her daughter believed security measures at the door would keep her safe.
“They charge them $60 or $50 to get into this establishment and then they’re not safe,” Potts said. “And then they’re letting people in that are not good people or have firearms on them when they were frisked on through the door. She said they patted her down, so she thought she would be safe.”
Potts described her daughter’s condition following the incident.
“Very distraught, anxiety is up at the emergency room. She’s being checked out and it’s not good. She’s a little banged up,” Potts said.
Witness describes altercation before shooting
A man, who asked to remain anonymous, said he witnessed a person on the floor involved in an altercation with four to five people before that person was “knocked unconscious.”
The witness said 10 to 15 minutes after that incident, he saw “three dudes came from the back and shoot the club up and ran out the way they came in.”
Police have not confirmed whether the shooting is connected to that altercation or to the party at Riverfront Live.
About Riverfront Live
Riverfront Live is a concert venue on Kellogg Avenue near the Wilmer Avenue intersection.
The venue’s website lists a 16-and-older age restriction unless otherwise stated. Riverfront Live has an indoor capacity of 1,200 guests and can host up to 3,500 guests outdoors, according to its website.
Riverfront Live has not released a statement as of 5:30 a.m. Sunday.
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