CINCINNATI -- A woman dove to the ground outside an East End nightclub and waited for the rounds of gunfire to subside.
Sherell, who asked her last name not be publicized, said her boyfriend lay on top of her as bullets flew just feet away early Sunday.
“All I could think about was, 'Is a bullet going to fly past me? Am I going to get hit and drop?’” she said.
Gunfire killed one person and injured 16 others early Sunday morning inside Cameo Night Club on Kellogg Avenue. Police initially reported 15 people were injured but increased the number to 16 Monday.
“I thought I was going to die. At that point, survival skill started kicking in,” Sherell said. “Once I heard the third shot -- I didn't know whether it was coming from outside, someone was shooting at the club, or whether it was coming from inside.
“I immediately dived to the ground to the side, and my boyfriend dived on top of me.”
O'Bryan Spikes, 27, was killed in the shooting, Police Chief Eliot Isaac said. City spokesman Rocky Merz said the incident was likely the result of an argument that had broken out earlier.
Sherell said the shots were loud and relentless. She remembers people running and diving on the ground.
“We seen people laying on the ground, crying, screaming and hollering ... people falling, cars sliding out the parking lot and he (her boyfriend) said 'Get up, go run, and don't look back,’” she said.
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Sherell said she hopes people want justice for the victims and their families. She said she can’t understand why someone would bring a gun into a nightclub.
“Why? Was it worth it?” she said.
Investigators believe multiple people fired shots, and no arrests have been made. Isaac said it's too early to tell if any gunmen may be among the wounded.
Mayor John Cranley said anyone with information needs to come forward.
For WCPO's complete coverage on the Cameo nightclub shooting, visit wcpo.com/cameo.
Editor’s note: WCPO does not ordinarily use anonymous sources. However, WCPO staff members use anonymous sources in rare circumstances where such sources are the only way to obtain information vital to the public good. WCPO staff members have vetted these sources and believe the information they provide to be accurate and in good faith.
