By Eric Preisler
Staff Writer
One person was killed and 16 others were injured on Sunday, March 26, when gunfire broke out in the Cameo nightclub in Cincinnati, CNN reported.
The man who was killed has been identified as 27-year-old O'Bryan Spikes, according to The New York Times.
Cornell Beckley and Deondre Davis face charges for the shooting, ABC reported.
Beckley has been arrested, however, Davis was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, as he is in critical condition from gunshot wounds, according to ABC.
The same source reported that both men have a criminal history. Beckley has served time for aggravated assault in 2008, and Davis pleaded guilty to criminal damage a few weeks ago after damaging property inside of an AT&T store.
During the shooting, club patron Mauricio Thompson said that among the chaos, he heard about 20 shots.
“Once I got outside, people (were) coming out bloody, gunshot wounds on them, some of their friends carrying them to the car, rushing them to the hospital,” Thompson said, according to The New York Times.
Police determined that most of the people who were harmed were caught in the crossfire.
“When you're talking about something tightly packed like that, I think intended targets aren't going to be the only thing that's hit,” said Sgt. Daniel Hils of the Cincinnati Police, according to The New York Times.
According to the same source, it is believed that the shooting started from a fight that escalated to gunfire.
“What we know at this point in the investigation is that several local men got into some type of dispute inside the bar, and it escalated into shots being fired from several individuals," said Eliot Isaac, Cincinnati Police chief.
Despite using detection wands and having pat downs, multiple firearms still made it into the club, according to The New York Times.
Cameo hires off-duty police officers as security, and that night, there were two officers at the club’s entrance and two in the parking lot, according to CNN.
Jackie Davis, Deondre Davis’s father, was in shock.
“I'm still puzzled on how my son is accused,” he said. His son is in critical condition as of Friday, March 31, CNN reported.
Cameo has a history of gun violence, as there were two shootings at the club in 2015, Reuters reported.
This shooting is not related to terrorism, but that did not diminish the clubgoers’ fear.
“What difference does it make to you what the motivation of the shooter was?” said John Cranley, mayor of Cincinnati, according to CNN. “We live in a city and a country where you should be able to go out and have a good time and not be terrorized by gun violence.”
