'Sickening' drive-by shooting kills boy as 22 rounds fired into group of kids
A gunman fired twenty-two rounds into a group of children during a "sickening and unimaginable" drive-by shooting that killed a boy and injured four kids.
Dominic Davis was shot dead on Friday evening at around 9.30pm in Cincinnati after the driver of a sedan fired 22 rounds "in quick succession" into a crowd of children. A 53-year-old woman, who was next to the victim, was wounded, and three other boys aged, 12, 13, and 15; along with a 15-year-old girl. One victim remains in a stable condition in hospital.
Mayor Aftab Pureval labelled the shooting "sickening and unimaginable'" and said it happened in a neighbourhood next to a local park and near an elementary school. "Twenty-two rounds were fired," Pureval said. "Twenty-two rounds in a moment — into a crowd of kids. No time to respond. No time to react."
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The devastated community held a memorial for the 11-year-old (WKRC)The mayor revealed the local community is suffering "unimaginable trauma" following the devastating shooting that has rocked the neighbourhood. Over the weekend, residents were "shouting messages of love and support to each other through open windows, but they were too wary to go outside".
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He added: "The parents, and the kids themselves we talked to, don't feel safe, and I frankly can't blame them." It is unclear if the shooting was random or targeted, as the mayor refused to be drawn on other aspects of the investigation. She urged the suspect to turn themselves in, vowing "we will find you and we will bring you to justice."
The incident happened on Friday evening (WCPO 9/Youtube)Heartbroken dad Isaac Davis was at the news conference along with the boy's mum and grandmother, as he urged whoever was responsible for his son's death to come forward. "When will this stop? Will this ever stop?' Davis asked. "How many people have to bury their kids, their babies, their loved ones?"
Cincinnati Police Chief Terri Theetge expressed her outrage. She said: "This is absolutely unacceptable in our city — unacceptable that on a Friday night six people were shot in one incident. This is happening too often. People are reverting to gun violence rather than resolving disputes in a humane manner. It is not humane to pull out a firearm and shoot individuals recklessly."
Cincinnati Police Chief Terri Theetge said they will bring the gunman to justice (WCPO 9/Youtube)The mayor revealed, 40 percent of the illegal weapons on the city's streets were stolen from cars, as authorities urged gun owners to lock up their guns.
"This is not an act of God; this is not a natural disaster. The devastation, the harm and the loss of life are a shock to us all, but they stem from actions of real people and they (are) enabled by access to guns,' City Manager Sheryl Long told members of the media on Sunday. "'Violence like this cannot be our status quo, " she added.
Mayor Aftab Pureval called the shooitng "sickening" (Facebook)A memorial was held on Sunday in the city where balloons were let off as they paid tribute to the 11-year-old boy who lost his life. "He was the best kid ever. He didn't do no wrong. He was smart in school, had plenty of friends. He was a good kid,' his aunt Rosalind McFarland told Local 12. "This is unbelievable, [how] somebody can drive by and shoot children. What is this world coming to?" she added.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, at least 36,309 deaths related to gun violence have been recorded in the US this year alone. The data says 15,981 of the total deaths were due to homicide, defensive gun use, murder, or were unintentional.
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