Cincinnati bar mass shooting: Gunfire at OTR leaves at least nine injured

On Sunday, August 7, 2022, a mass shooting in a Cincinnati bar left at least nine people injured. Around 1:45 a.m. on Sunday, shots rang out outside Mr. Pitiful's bar in the Over-the-Rhine district of Cincinnati. According to Lt. Colonel Mike John of the Cincinnati Police Department, the victims sustained injuries in their lower halves.

Police have confirmed that none of them are in critical condition. The police have yet to make any arrests in connection with the shooting.

A witness, while describing the scene of the crime to Fox 19 as 'chaos', said:

"Seen people running and it was just melee. Chaos. I actually saw the cops running down the street trying to find the guy who they were looking for."

Lt. Colonel Mike John stated that there had been an active shooter in the area. Police are of the opinion that there was a single shooter, though that is still under investigation. As of 5 a.m., no arrests were made.

A man, suspected by the police of being the shooter, fled the scene immediately after the incident. Law enforcement officers shot at him, though whether he was wounded by them is still unclear. According to Lt. Colonel John:

"It is a little unusual when we do not know for certainty whether the individual the officer fired on was struck or not."

According to WLWT-TV, police had to use flash bangs to disperse a large crowd that was blocking medical personnel from reaching the injured.

A few hours later, the Central Business District of Cincinnati witnessed another shooting that left two wounded. Investigations are ongoing to find out whether the early morning shootings have anything in common.

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Cincinnati shooting case: Popular nightlife areas in America face the rising threat of gun violence

Cincinnati's popular nightlife area was the most recent victim of a mass shooting that left seven injured. Apart from the general surge in mass shootings in America, the number of shootings in bars and nightclubs has also risen over the past few years. Earlier in July, a shooting outside Westport Ale House in Kansas left one dead and injured at least five others.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas had said:

"With multiple police officers and security guards present, we still saw a shoot out on the streets of our city. The easy access to guns and the total lack of safeguards in our state to keep people from carrying them almost anywhere continues to put our people at risk each day."

Overnight, Oakland witnessed two shootings near restaurants in the downtown and uptown areas of the city. On July 31, a mass shooting in downtown Orlando injured seven people. A brawl led to gunfire in the middle of a crowded area near Wall Street Plaza and South Orange Avenue. On July 30, a disagreement at a restaurant resulted in a shooting that injured five people in Illinois.

Bars and restaurant owners fear for their businesses in the midst of a gun violence plague that has gripped the entire nation.