CINCINNATI — Cincinnati's chief of police said more juveniles have been arrested for homicides this year than at any other time in his more than 30-year career.
Chief Eliot Isaac is retiring in early 2022, but noted the trend in his final months. As the city's homicides continue to tick up, so do the amount of juvenile arrests.
Kenneth Terrel Milner is Cincinnati's 75th homicide victim, shot and killed in Winton Terrace Thursday night. His father, Kenneth Elmer Milner, said his son was shot in the chest.
"My son ran in the house [and] grabbed a child, and he stood over my son and shot him twice – with the child in his arms," Milner said. "What kind of evil does that?"
The city has seen seven days of shootings, including one that resulted in the death of 16-year-old Javeir Randolph. Family said a car pulled up to Randolph as someone inside began shooting.
“His mom ran down there and was trying to do CPR on her son," said Nina Turner, Randolph's aunt. "Her son died in her arms. You know how hard that is? You got his blood on you and everything. Come on now. That's a hard feeling. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.”
The shooting was the second homicide in the neighborhood in two days. On Tuesday, 39-year-old Yarsellay Sammie died.
"Right now, we do need to be concerned," Isaac said.
Isaac said the increase in shootings is nationwide, but Cincinnati is noticing more juveniles with easy access to high-powered guns.
"We're not talking about some cheap old gun that belonged to Grandpa. We're talking about Glocks, AR-15s, we're talking abut sophisticated weapons," Isaac said. "We've taken over 1,300 guns off the street so far this year, more than any other year before, and yet we're still seeing what's occurring."
Cincinnati Police are still searching for a solution, Isaac said, even as the city invests more in youth programming than ever before.
"We can talk about programs, and there's a lot out there, but at the end of the day, when we're talking about juveniles, that starts at home," Isaac said. "Parents needs to be responsible for their kids. If you have 14- and 15-year-old kids that are out here committing violent crime, that begins at home. That has to start at home. There's no way to sugar-coat it."
Isaac said he is working with juvenile judges and the superintendent of Cincinnati Public Schools to address problems specific to juvenile crimes.
RELATED:
