CINCINNATI — “Somebody intended to kill a policeman."
Shots were fired overnight near Cincinnati police officers them in the Roselawn neighborhood, Cincinnati police said.
Lt. Jonathan Cunningham said officers were patrolling in the area of Reading Road and Summit Road around 3:45 a.m. when officers heard gun shots near them. The officers rushed to cover to avoid being shot. According to Cunningham, officers did not return fire and no officers were injured during the ordeal.
Fraternal Order of Police President Dan Hils talked with the officers involved. He said they were inches away from death.
"They felt the bullets going past them, one of the bullets went into a police car they were right by. There was bits of asphalt kicking up as the bullets hit the asphalt so it’s absolutely an incredible blessing that we didn’t lose a policeman last night," Hils said.
One of CPD's police vehicles was hit with a single round near the hood.
Officers were patrolling in that area after a recent spike in violent crime. Cunningham said large crowds have been associated with establishments in that area.
A man was shot and killed Thursday morning near the same area where officers were fired upon.
Hils released this statement about the incident,
Enough is enough Cincinnati. Late last night, criminals opened fire at Cincinnati police officers in their cruisers in Roselawn. Thank God no officers were injured, but a half dozen shots were aimed to kill officers, with at least one round hitting the cruiser. Police are in this neighborhood trying to keep the community safe. Just a few days ago, a violent murder happened not far from where the officers were patrolling. I’m begging the city, please hire more cops to help keep our city safe. I'm begging the judges, please keep violent criminals off of the streets! Put people in prison when they’re caught with illegal guns. Stop handing out OR bonds for dangerous felons. It’s a simple solution: put the relatively few violent criminals responsible for the death and destruction in our communities in prison and everyone will be safer! Enough is enough.
At the scene, Hils said this was a scary situation. He said the officers involved were shaken up, but they won't let this incident get the best of them. Hils is calling on city leaders and the community to stand up for these officers.
“Cincinnati police never back down. I’m certain they’re going to figure out who did this, and you know I’ll be there, and I hope the rest of the community is there to demand that the courts do the maximum that when you try to kill a policeman here in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, you go away for as long as possible," Hils said.
In a statement Mayor Aftab Pureval's office said "It's madness that our officers would be shot at while just doing their job. I'm extremely grateful for the sacrifices made by all our law enforcement, and I'm thankful that no one was harmed in this shooting. This kind of reckless, violent behavior is unacceptable and we're not going to stop until we put an end to it."
CPD has not said if investigators have any suspects in the case. Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 513-352-3040.
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