6 shot, 11-year-old dead after mass shooting in Cincinnati's West End

A West End mass shooting Friday night left one person dead and another five injured, some of whom are juveniles, police said.

Cincinnati police responded to the area of Jones and Wades streets just before 9:30 p.m. after a series of alerts from ShotSpotter, the gunshot detection system.

On Friday night, Chief Teresa Theetge said one person died at the scene of the shooting and another five people were injured and taken to area hospitals. She confirmed some of the victims were under the age of 18.

The boy killed was 11 years old, Cincinnati police said Saturday morning.

Three of the other victims were taken to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. On Saturday, a spokesperson from Cincinnati Children's said one victim had been discharged and two others were in critical but stable condition.

Two people were taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. They were both released on Saturday, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Police have not released the ages of the other victims but officials did say on Friday that at least two who were shot were children.

No names of victims or suspect information have been released.

Cincinnati police, Mayor Aftab Pureval and City Manager Sheryl Long are expected to hold a news conference at 2 p.m. Sunday.

There is no formal consensus on the definition of a mass shooting, but USA TODAY, the Associated Press and the Gun Violence Archive all define mass shootings as incidents in which at least four people are killed or wounded.

Theetge said Friday there was no indication of an ongoing threat to the public. She said investigators are working to determine what led up to the shooting.

She said this violence is unacceptable and her officers are working hard to bring the person or people responsible to justice.

"I'm angry too," Theetge said. "This is happening too often. People are reverting to gun violence rather than resolving disputes in a humane manner. It is not humane to pull out a firearm and shoot individuals recklessly."

Mayor Aftab Pureval called the shooting "a horrific tragedy" on X, formerly known as Twitter.

He went on to say "Right now, I’m asking for your prayers. We will keep you updated as our officers continue their investigation. But I promise this: we will give everything we have to deliver justice against this sickening, heartless violence."

Mitch Morris, founder of Save Our Youth − Kings & Queens, responded to West End Friday night. Morris is a veteran violence interventionist. He said the scene was tragic.

"We cannot play multiple choice with what the solution is right now," Morris said. "We have to be laser-focused on our youth."

Friday's shooting will likely contribute to making 2023 the worst year in Cincinnati for teen shootings on record. Prior to Friday, 47 teens between the ages of 13 and 17 had been shot in the city this year. The previous record was set in 2009 with a total of 50 teens shot.

Prior to Friday's shootings, two teens, ages 16 and 14 had been shot in the West End neighborhood. Another 30 adults have been shot there this year, according to Cincinnati police data. The neighborhood had already seen three homicides so far in 2023.

Morris said the local government, the schools, the hospitals, the police and social services all need to come together to address the problem of youth violence immediately.

"We have a cancer in our city," Morris said. "We have to give it everything we've got."

The Enquirer will update this story when more information is available.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: West End shooting: 11-year-old dead, 5 injured in Cincinnati