The FBI joined Cincinnati police Monday in the search for a suspect after a shooting at Riverfront Live left nine people wounded early Sunday, authorities said.
Police said the nine victims were hospitalized with injuries that were described as non-life threatening after shots were reported around 1 a.m. Sunday inside the music venue, the Associated Press reported. Interim Cincinnati Police Chief Adam Hennie said all the victims were in stable condition.
The federal involvement includes work by the FBI with the Cincinnati Police Department, according to spokesperson Todd Lindgren. Lindgren said the FBI is working with local investigators on the case as authorities pursue leads about who fired shots inside the venue.
Federal investigators also offered a reward connected to identifying the suspect. Lindgren said the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives offered $5,000 for information leading to identification of a suspect.
Officials have not provided details about a motive in the Cincinnati shooting. The AP reported that the incident occurred almost simultaneously to a deadly bar shooting in Austin, Texas, which authorities are investigating as a potential act of terrorism, but Ohio officials have not said the Cincinnati shooting is related or tied to terrorism.
Bill Halusek, a spokesperson for the Cincinnati ATF, said authorities in Ohio did not suspect the Cincinnati shooting to be an act of terrorism at this time. He said that assessment was the status of the investigation when the FBI joined police Monday.
Eyewitness Anton Canady said he was at Riverfront Live when he heard “commotion” that sounded like a fight. Canady told the AP that music continued to play and shortly after he heard gunshots, prompting him and his girlfriend, Brandi Willis, to run for the exit.
Canady said Willis fell while trying to escape and to avoid being trampled, and he laid on top of her to protect her. Canady said that when he finally got out of the venue, he learned one of the people shot was his cousin, and he later spoke with his cousin by phone Monday, describing her condition as “doing good” but saying she was “in shock.”
The shooting occurred during a birthday celebration hosted by Jermaine Tandy, also known as DJ Fresh, according to a post on Tandy’s Facebook page. Management representing DJ Fresh said it was “devastated” by what happened and said the event was intended as an opportunity for people to come together and enjoy music, adding that “the actions of one individual ruined the evening for so many.”
That Facebook post said venue owners were responsible for security at the event under the DJ’s rental agreement. Riverfront Live is on the Ohio River near Riverbend Music Center and often draws customers from Riverbend’s larger outdoor venue, which closes in winter. The venue was rebranded Riverfront Live in 2018 after gaining attention for criminal activity, and portions of the property have held other names, including Stage Forty-Three and Inner Circle, according to the AP report.