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A look at the chaos: Witnesses react as gunman opens fire in downtown building

36 views · Published 12 September 2018 · 2:33 · Indexed 22 September 2026

Channel: LOCAL 12 · 2018 · News & Politics

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CINCINNATI (WKRC) - Thursday afternoon, Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac talked about how officers responded to a 911 call about a gunman.

“As the officers approached the lobby area of the Fifth Third Center, they encountered a loan gunman,” he said.

That man was armed with only one gun, but a ton of ammunition.

“He had multiple magazines, and he did have, I believe, somewhere in the neighborhood of a couple hundred rounds,“ Chief Isaac said.

The first call came at 9:11 Thursday morning and, in an instant, there was panic inside of the Fifth Third building and outside.

A witness recorded video on his cell phone and gunfire is heard in the background as people listened and watched in horror.

In a relatively short period of time, the suspect shot five people. 

“He shot the glass, made the glass shatter. We saw that from sitting on the floor. We smelled the gunpowder. He was that close," said witness Eboni Ginyard. “Didn’t know what to do. We didn’t know where to go because we don’t have a backdoor.“

Janetta Cook also heard shots. 

“My thing was to go get the keys, lock the door, and in the midst of that you just hear shots after shots after shots," she said.

Four Cincinnati police officers opened fire, shooting and killing the suspect. Then they started the process of sweeping the building to make sure that there was no longer a threat.

“We are also confident at this point that the shooter acted alone and there are no additional threats to the public," Chief Isaac said.

Mayor John Cranley called it a painful day but says while the city will mourn, the citizens will also heal.

“The fear that has plagued too many cities hit home today, and it’s hard for it all to sink in," he said.

Chief Isaac says there is body cam video from the officers and surveillance video from inside as well as outside of the building. He says it will likely be released at a press conference on Friday afternoon.

Police are still looking for a motive.

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