CINCINNATI — One person is in critical condition after five people were shot Saturday evening during an event at a Madisonville park, Cincinnati police said.
Police responded to Bramble Park around 6:30 p.m. for a shooting.
CPD said five people were injured in the shooting. Police said a 30-year-old, 39-year-old, 28-year-old, 46-year-old and 24-year-old were shot.
Police said one of the people shot remains in critical condition. The other four people had non-life-threatening injuries, CPD said.
Two witnesses at the scene of the shooting said a "Madisonville Day" event was happening at the park at the time of the shooting. The event had bounce houses, a DJ, a basketball competition and more.
The two witnesses told us there was a fight that broke out at the event, and then gunshots rang out, but they were unsure if the gunfire came from those fighting. They said they heard roughly 20-30 gunshots. The witnesses said there were hundreds of people at the event, including children, who then scattered after the gunfire.
Suzann Pankala, a neighbor who lives next to the park, said she and her husband heard the gunfire, and she at first thought it was fireworks at the park's event.
"And by then, all these people and children, a lot of children are running up from the park, and the kids are crying," she said. "And one little girl says 'mommy, why do we have to leave? We just got here, mommy' and it was, it was crazy."
Pankala said normally it's a "perfect, quiet neighborhood."
"How does a gathering in our local park, a place of peace and happiness, turn into a dark moment of pain and suffering? Silence is a form of violence," CPD said on social media.
CPD Chief Teresa Theetge said at a press conference Sunday that everyone in Cincinnati should be "appalled" by what happened at Bramble Park.
"What we need to do is figure out a way to have these events for the kids and the residents of every one of our 52 neighborhoods and let them be confident that they can come to these events and that they'll be safe from the time they arrive until the time that they leave," Theetge said.
Theetge also admitted that there's no "textbook solution" to gun violence and that it's "ever-evolving" and "very fluid," asking that anyone with ideas to step forward and help police and city administration.
Organizers of Saturday's event said they also don't want to this one incident to stop them from hosting future events and bringing the community together.
"We just ask for these types of events going on [that] we put pride and ego to the side, and let these babies have fun," organizers said.
Theetge said police believe there is more than one shooter, but their investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information can call Crimestoppers at 513-352-3040.
