CINCINNATI — Police investigated at least five shootings in the Tri-State from Sunday night into Monday morning.
A man was shot and killed in Norwood at a home on Hunter Avenue.
“I did hear like a firecracker burst,” said Ruby Aker, who was sitting about a block away on her porch. “I saw a guy running down the street down Lawn Avenue going pretty fast. Somebody was behind him, hollering for him.”
Norwood police interviewed at least two witnesses. Police say it is possible the victim and suspect were connected.
Another shooting Sunday night sent a 19-year-old man to the hospital in Mt. Airy. He was shot in the chest on the 2500 block of W. North Bend Road. Cincinnati police confirm the shooting happened around 10 p.m.
A shooting in Middletown sent two people to the hospital early Monday morning. Middletown police found the victims on the 2400 block of Roosevelt Avenue.
Additional shootings took place in Clifton and South Fairmount.
“When you see the warmer weather, you see more people outside and more people interacting with people they haven't interacted with all year,” said Te'Airea Powell, a trustee with the East Westwood Improvement Association (EWIA).
East Westwood community leaders, like Powell, say creating “safe spaces” can help reduce violence.
Rodney Christian, EWIA’s president, manages a recreation center at a church on McHenry Avenue. The center has been helping kids for about 30 years.
“They know they have a place that's consistently open,” Christian said. “Someone's there all the time and they can talk to before they make this drastic decision.”
The center offers kids mentors, food, activities and a safe place to go. Christian said they've worked with "two, three different generations."
“I started coming here when I was 8 years old,” Powell said. “The presence of this church and this community council has stopped a lot of bad things from happening.”
“We need more safe places,” said EWIA Vice President Robert Moore, who also visited the center growing up. “If each community had more safe places, the crime of violence would be down.”
