CINCINNATI — It was five years ago when three people were shot and killed and two others injured at Fifth Third Center in Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati.
For one survivor, she is taking the worst day of her life and turning it into positive change.
What You Need To Know
- Whitney Austin was shot multiple times walking into work at Fountain Square on Sept. 6, 2018
- After surviving that day, she knew she had to use her second chance on life to create change in the world
- Austin founded Whitney/Strong, a nonprofit dedicated to ending gun violence
- Austin is hopeful for legislation in the next several years in Ohio to make our communities safer
“I’m okay, I’m okay being in this space,” said Whitney Austin, a survivor of the Fountain Square shooting. “This wouldn’t have happened in year one, two, I don’t know, maybe not in year three, but at five years I’ve made peace with this space and so it’s okay to be here.”
On that day five years ago, Whitney Austin was met with bullets as she walked into work- resolving to play dead until help arrived.
“I knew right away that I got an unbelievable gift that I would get home to my babies and to my husband and everybody that I loved,” Austin said. “And so there really wasn’t a question, it was immediate, I have to pay this gift forward, I have to do something.”
Austin says she’s okay being at Fountain Square five years after the shooting. (Spectrum News/ Brandon Coello)
That something is Whitney/Strong, a nonprofit dedicated to ending gun violence.
“We want there to be a significant awareness and feeling amongst Americans that we’re back in a safe place,” she said.
Between bipartisan legislative work and partnering with Ohio and Kentucky communities to create safer neighborhoods, Austin hopes to keep making strides.
“They want to argue whether guns are good or guns are bad and we’re over here waving the white flag saying that’s not what you should be talking about,” Austin said. “You should be talking about people dying every single day and there are solutions that we can move, so let’s move ‘em.”
All that work comes back to Sept. 6.
“It’s hard to believe that it’s been five years,” she said. “To me, it feels like it has gone so fast and that’s because I just feel really grateful that I’m living my purpose.”
Walking around the square, Austin said the fountain gives her a sense of community.
Austin created Whitney/Strong after she was shot several times at the Fountain square Shooting (Spectrum News/ Brandon Coello)
“I remember seeing all the pictures and the video of people coming together around the fountain and laying flowers,” Austin said. “If I’m being honest, I wish that those flowers and posters stayed forever because something really significant and something really horrific happened on this square and I want them to remember.”
Whitney/Strong is holding a week of remembrance this week with events to honor those whose lives were lost or forever changed by the shooting.
“I think we are on the cusp of legislative change that will happen right here in Ohio,” Austin said. “I truly believe in the next five years we will see the passage of some bills in Ohio to increase public safety to keep all of us safe.”
Click here for a full list of events and details.
