CINCINNATI — Police believe a 13-year-old girl wounded in a triple-shooting outside a Roselawn shopping center was an innocent victim, but they say the gunman acted in cold blood when he shot two other adults Wednesday night.
Police said surveillance video from a nearby business recorded the terrifying scene as the gunman shot one victim multiple times.
“The victim is lying on the ground … You can tell he is writhing in pain. He’s standing over him pointing a weapon, firing the weapon, and then he goes to walk off and it appears that he is continuing to fire,” Cincinnati Police Capt. Mark Burns said at a news conference Thursday.
The girl was shot in the shoulder blade after coming out of dance class, Burns said.
“She was at the local dance studio ... I believe, departing that studio after her dance class. We believe it was a missed shot from the suspect that struck her," Burns said.
The shootings happened just before 8 p.m. in the 7600 block of Reading Road, near Valley Shopping Center. At the scene, Captain Doug Snider said all three victims were transported with non-life threatening injuries. One was taken to an intensive care unit.
A few hours later, police arrested 53-year-old Tony Tate of Golf Manor, and charged him with three counts of felonious assault and having a weapon while under disability.
Burns said police weren’t sure of the motive for the attack.
“We're not really sure if there is some sort of relationship or ongoing feud between the suspect and the victims,” Burns said.
The adult victims are in their 40s and 50s, police said.
Police said they were able to make a quick arrest around 1 a.m. Thursday thanks to cooperative witnesses and the surveillance video.
“It's amazing when we have cooperative witnesses what we can find out. They gave a description of a pickup truck that was seen leaving the scene,” Burns said.
Police said the video gave them the license plate number on Tate’s truck.
Neighbors said it was the third shooting in the area this week and they’re fed up.
“It's unacceptable,” said Wayne Butler. “People just need to learn how to go back to the old days to handle they beefs and fight it out.”
Burns praised witnesses for cooperating.
“The more cooperation we have from the community the more successful we are in removing these violent offenders from the streets,” he said.
Police said the recent shootings don’t appear to be connected.
