Police shoot and kill stabbing suspect near Cincinnati Music Hall

CINCINNATI (WXIX/Gray News) - A man was shot and killed by police following a stabbing and a pursuit that ended near Cincinnati Music Hall on Thursday.

Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge said officers pursued the suspect until he crashed near the intersection of 12th and Elm streets.

“He was armed with a firearm,” Theetge said. “Officers encountered him, and multiple officers gave him commands to drop his firearm.”

Theetge said the stabbing victim was in critical condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

Corey Miller, who lives downtown, said he was out for a walk when he noticed the chase.

“I was walking up the street and heard a loud scraping noise,” Miller said. “I looked to see what was going on, and it’s this guy going up the street with about 30 police cars chasing him. Initially, I didn’t know it was his tires.”

Miller said the car eventually stopped in the middle of the block. He said a few minutes later he could hear the shooting.

“It was probably gunfire from two or three different guns,” Miller said. “It looked like something from a movie. It’s something you wouldn’t forget or wouldn’t want to see live.”

An eyewitness said she was in the area with her granddaughter when they heard police sirens.

“I saw the police cars and this blue car stopped,” the woman, who declined to be identified, said. “It had flat tires. The door opens and a man gets out and I hear people yelling, ‘Put the gun down, put the gun down.’ I saw him get out of the car and he had a black gun.

“About five or 10 minutes later, I was talking to her mother on the phone and we could hear three or four gunshots. Some man said they ended up shooting him.”

The woman said she couldn’t leave the area because her car was parked behind police lines. She said the police told her the investigation would take hours.

Ken Kober, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 69, released a statement on the shooting saying police gave multiple commands for the suspect to put down his gun.

“Unfortunately, the attempted murder suspect who had ignored repeated pleas to drop his gun chose to raise that gun to point it at officers,” Kober said. “Those officers followed their training and protected lives, shooting the suspect. Thankfully, no innocent people or officers were injured.”

Theetge said the entire investigation was in the preliminary stages, including the stabbing.

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