'All the makings of a catastrophic incident': Officials commend officers involved in shooting at Music Hall

CINCINNATI — Police fatally shot a man accused of stabbing a woman in Westwood and leading a police pursuit into Over-the-Rhine, Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge said Thursday night.

Four officers fired a total of six bullets that killed 48-year-old Juan Mack, Theetge said.

On Friday, Theetge and other city officials held a press conference about the shooting, which happened just outside a busy Music Hall minutes before an opera performance was scheduled to begin inside.

The incident began miles away, on Parkcrest Lane in Westwood; Police were dispatched after a person called 911 at around 6:43 p.m. on Thursday to report a man had just stabbed a woman multiple times, Theetge said.

The man fled in a blue Toyota; CPD officers spotted him nearby, on Warsaw, and Theetge noted he was covered in blood. Police attempted to stop him, but Mack fled, leading police on a pursuit down Warsaw to Elm Street.

Theetge showed footage from several surveillance cameras near Washington Park and Music Hall that captured the events leading up to Cincinnati officers opening fire.

In the videos, Mack can be seen stopping his vehicle in the middle of the intersection of Elm and 12th Street; He got out of the vehicle and, holding a hand gun in his right hand, walked up Elm Street heading north, near Washington Park.

Officers followed on foot, weapons drawn; though some of the surveillance footage did not have sound, Theetge said officers were consistently shouting at Mack to drop his gun.

Still holding the gun, Mack can be seen walking up toward Memorial Hall and Music Hall; The footage also shows dozens of bystanders walking along the street, heading toward Music Hall.

Theetge said that was all happening at around 7:12 p.m. A performance by the Cincinnati Opera was scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. at Music Hall.

The video showed police work to alert the public outside Music Hall, and staff members ushered people inside as Mack walked slowly, gun still in hand, toward the building.

"This had all the makings of a catastrophic incident," said Theetge. "You saw the number of people that were out and about."

She added that, nearby, Washington Park was also full of people.

"Many, many lives were in danger," she said.

You can watch the full press conference in the player below:

On the surveillance footage and body camera footage shown, police partially surround Mack as he stands with his back to Music Hall, facing officers. He waves the gun as he shouts to police officers, who continue ordering him to drop his gun.

Mack can be heard in the footage shouting at law enforcement, though what he's saying isn't always clear. Theetge said he'd shouted that he was going to hell, because "I have a body on me."

"Keep in mind, he just practically murdered a woman," said Theetge. "Practically murdered her. He doesn't know if she's dead or alive."

Police continued to order Mack to drop his weapon during the course of events; Theetge said Mack responded, shouting that he'd drop his weapon if officers dropped theirs.

"Not tactically sound, we're not gonna do that, we're not gonna back down," said Theetge.

One sergeant fired three foam rounds at Mack while this was happening: One shot hit him in the leg and had no effect, Theetge said, and the second shot missed. The third foam round was fired at the same time Mack could be seen on video raising the gun — as other officers fired lethal shots, Theetge said.

In addition to the officer firing foam rounds, three CPD officers each fired a single bullet at Mack; a fourth fired three rounds, Theetge said.

Theetge, along with Mayor Aftab Pureval, City Manager Sheryl Long and Councilmember Scotty Johnson commended CPD officers for using what they called solid tactics to resolve things.

Johnson noted CPD's use of the foam rounds and said those shots showed an attempt on the officer's part to preserve Mack's life.

Pureval said the Citizen's Complaint Authority will also have its own, separate investigation of the shooting, in addition to the official investigation already opened.

Theetge said CPD will not be releasing the names of the officers who fired, citing Marsy's Law, which seeks to protect the rights of victims of crimes.

Video given to us by Lora Sigritz shows the man standing in front of several officers, appearing to hold up a gun in his right hand less than a minute before officers fired their weapons.

"I was really upset for the guy, I was concerned for the guy — just wanted him to drop the gun," Sigritz said. "It just really sad, really sad what happened."

Theetge said the woman who was stabbed is at UC Medical Center, still in critical condition. However, she said officers were able to interview her Friday morning. Theetge said no other people were injured in the incident.

In a statement, FOP President Ken Kober said officers gave multiple commands that were ignored, leading to the shooting.

"Those officers followed their training and protected their lives, shooting the suspect," Kober said. "Thankfully, no innocent people or officers were injured."

The City of Cincinnati first posted an alert just before 7:30 p.m. reporting police at the scene of an emergency near Music Hall before giving an all-clear just 15 minutes later.

When our crews responded to the scene, they witnessed dozens of police cruisers blocking off Elm Street near Music Hall.

Witnesses at the scene told us they saw the man leading a police pursuit before he got out of his vehicle.

"He was very calm and (collected) when he was basically done with his car then. He looked to his right and to his left. He literally looked me in the eyes and I was like, alright something doesn't feel right," Jojo Davis said.