CINCINNATI, Ohio — Overnight violence in Cincinnati marks a disturbing trend for the city. According to police, 2020 is on pace to be a record year for homicides in Cincinnati.
When the city awoke Sunday morning, eighteen people suffered gunshot wounds. Four would be dead before 9 a.m.
The final scene police discovered that morning was in Cincinnati’s West End neighborhood, where dozens gathered to mourn the death of Myron Green.
Rob Davis spoke for the community.
“Came in as just a coach and kind of a father figure,” he said. “He did what he could.”
Davis worked alongside the 39-year-old as president of the West End Lil’ Senators Peewee Football Organization.
Green started coaching two years ago, but Davis said the job wasn’t limited to the field.
“We walk the neighborhood and connect with many kids in the neighborhood and that’s something that Myron would do,” he said. “In the inner city, you hear about the death rates, you hear about the poverty, you hear about the crime rates. So, this was an outlet.”
According to Cincinnati Police, Green was found dead when they arrived with a single gunshot wound, making him the fourth victim of the morning.
Captain Paul Neudigate said the violence started in Walnut Hills at the intersection of Lincoln and Gilbert. Three were shot and injured. No one was killed.
“This is on top of a quadruple shooting on Chalfonte in Avondale,” Neudigate said.
That was the second shooting. Four people were shot and 21-year-old Antonio Blair died at the hospital.
Police then raced to Grant Park in the Over the Rhine neighborhood, where a shootout claimed ten victims. Two died: 34-year-old Robert Rogers, and 30-year-old Jaquiez Grant.
Neudigate said at this point, police believe all these incidents are unrelated.
“Horrific and tragic that we have this much violence and that much potential for loss of life in our city,” he said.
The weekend’s violence prompted Police Chief Eliot K. Isaac to release a statement Sunday calling the violence unacceptable and asking Cincinnati communities to act.
The statement reads:
“This amount of gun violence and the damage this has inflicted on our neighborhoods is unacceptable. I am calling on all citizens of this great city to say enough is enough! We must not sit by silently and say we can’t do anything to end gun violence. We all have a moral obligation to stop the violence and stop the killing in our communities.”
For Davis though, the call is not enough to make up for the way violence has town through his community.
In the wake of Green’s death, he said the neighborhood is already preparing to bury one of their own leaders.
“His purpose was to give back to this organization and give back to these kids,” he said.
Davis hopes continued community leadership in Green’s name will make a difference in the future.
“The organization and the community can give back in a way where it’s uplifting,” he said.
