Organizers of a festival in the historic center of Toledo, Ohio, have cancelled planned events on Sunday as police continue the search for at least two shooters who wounded 12 people a day earlier.
The Toledo police deputy chief, Joseph Heffernan, said the shooters were “probably shooting at each other” when gunfire erupted just after 5.30pm near the Old West End festival, an annual gathering of live music and architectural home tours.
A search for suspects was entering its second day on Sunday. But with no suspects in custody, law enforcement officials have urged festival goers to come forward with any photos or videos on their phones for possible leads.
Two people are reported to be in critical condition, Heffernan said. He added that the ages of the victims ranged from 14 to 61, with most in their early 20s. There were several hundred people at the festival at the time.
Authorities also said extra police officers had been assigned to the festival, and a large number of off-duty officers were working for the festival itself.
“It’s just a shame when a few people, for whatever reasons going through their head, decide to disrupt something that has been a beloved community event for many, many, many years,” Heffernan said.
Festival organizers said in a statement posted online: “Too often we turn on the news and learn of a celebration somewhere that turns into a tragedy. Now, that news comes from our own neighborhood.
“We are heartbroken about those that were injured at the Old West End Festival. Many people want to know how we proceed from such a dark place.”
After discussions with Toledo civic and police authorities, the organizer’s statement added, “We feel that it would not be compassionate, responsible or possible to continue the festival.”
Video posted online showed attendees scrambling for cover as shots rang out and. Later, a video on X showed a young man ambling down the street with blood pouring from a wound in his side before sitting down.
“I am deeply concerned about the situation in Toledo,” the Ohio governor, Mike DeWine, said in a statement on Saturday. “Summer festivals should be safe spaces for families to spend time together without fear of violence.”
Ohio senator Jon Husted also took to social media to share a statement, calling the violence “senseless”. He also thanked law enforcement “who acted quickly to protect Ohioans and are working to locate the suspects and bring them to justice”.
The Toledo fire chief, Allison Armstrong, said it had been difficult to get victims to area hospitals because of closed roads and traffic from people leaving the festival.
Counting the case in Toledo on Saturday, there had been more than 170 mass shootings in the US so far for the year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The nonpartisan archive defines mass shootings as shootings in which four or more victims are wounded or killed.
The US’s perennially high rates of mass shootings has prompted many to call on the federal government for more substantial gun control. But Congress has not implemented such restrictions over the years.
Separately, a church in east Columbus canceled the remainder of its annual festival after fights prompted an early shutdown on Friday night.
Fighting broke out at St Catharine Catholic Church’s Funfest in the city at about 7pm, where about 500 to 800 teenagers had gathered, 10 WBNS reported. Columbus police said there had been reports of gunshots, but no weapon had been recovered.
“Violence has no place in our community spaces but is unfortunately a potential that needs to be carefully considered and planned around when organizing large community events,” Bexley mayor Ben Kessler said.
“There are controls that can be put into place to greatly reduce this risk, and we will not only be working to encourage their use at future FunFests – but also to again re-examine our own events to apply any lessons learned.”
Columbus division of police chief Elaine Bryant condemned what she called “street takeovers”.
“What will not be tolerated are street takeovers, reckless driving, disorderly behavior, vandalism, assaults, or any actions that endanger the safety of our residents and visitors,” Bryant said in a statement. “Lawlessness will not be tolerated in our city.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: theguardian.com
