Multiple people were shot Saturday near the Old West End Festival in Toledo, Ohio, and a search for the suspect or suspects is ongoing, the Toledo Police Department said.
Police said they responded to a report of a person shot near the festival at about 5:30 p.m. and found “multiple shooting victims” upon arrival. The department said “many victims” had been taken for medical treatment but did not provide details on the number of people injured or the severity of their wounds. Authorities also did not provide information on what may have led to the shooting.
The department said it is actively searching for the “suspect or suspects involved.” The investigation currently includes scenes in the area of Delaware Avenue and Robinwood Avenue, police said. A map on the festival website suggests a music and food stand was located at that intersection. Police asked residents and visitors to avoid the area.
Kevin Berry, a witness who spoke to The Guardian, said he was sitting in the neighborhood arboretum listening to live music with friends when he heard a handful of gunshots. “Everybody hit the deck,” he said. Berry said he saw a gun being tossed to the ground less than 50 feet away from him. He said police officers who were already on site for the festival immediately responded.
Berry, who said he has medical training and served in the U.S. Navy, said he walked around the area looking for potential victims who might need help. He said he saw at least five people with gunshot wounds. “The folks who were hit were spread out around the arboretum area,” he said.
The Old West End Festival is a two-day event that organizers describe as “a two-day event celebrating one of the largest historic districts in the country with live music, multiple food markets, a beer garden, house tours, shopping, and much more.” Berry described it as the “kick-off to Toledo’s summer festival season.”
The shooting is the latest in a series of mass shootings at public gatherings across the U.S. this year. MSI previously reported that a shooting at a lakeside party near Oklahoma City in early May left one person dead and 22 wounded, and that a shooting near the University of Iowa in April wounded five people.