Victims identified in both Over-the-Rhine shootings

CINCINNATI (WXIX) - Several streets in Over-the-Rhine were temporarily shut down on Tuesday after two people were killed in two separate shootings.

Gun violence is something Cincinnati police have been working to combat in the city for years. City Insights reports that there have been 305 reported shootings in Cincinnati from the start of 2023 to Nov. 15

Three more have since been added to the total tally in the past week, two of which happened on Tuesday less than 12 hours apart.

On Wednesday, the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office identified both victims.

What happened on Tuesday? District 1 officers were dispatched just after noon to the 1700 block of Republic Street for a report of a shooting.

When police arrived, they found a 28-year-old man with at least one gunshot wound and transported him to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in critical condition, Lt. Jonathan Cunningham said in a press release.

In less than an hour, Lt. Cunningham announced that the shooting victim was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The Hamilton County Coroner identified the victim as Ramond Bean, who is not a resident of Downtown Cincinnati or Over-the-Rhine.

As of now, no suspects have been arrested and the investigation is ongoing.

Nine hours later, another shooting occurred in Over-the-Rhine.

Police responded to Cable House Lofts for a report of a 31-year-old man shot inside unit 3F, Lt. Andrew Heyob said at the scene.

Lt. Heyob says Cincinnati police attempted to save the victim’s life, but he did not make it.

The victim was identified on Wednesday as Mikale Booker, of Mason, Ohio, according to the coroner’s sheet.

During their investigation, detectives discovered that the suspect had broken into the building through a side door that leads to the stairwell, Heyob told the media at the scene on Tuesday night.

The suspect then entered a unit and shot the 31-year-old, he said.

Police have not said whether the suspect and Booker knew each other or not.

Lt. Heyob says the case will be “probably fairly solvable” due to the number of witnesses that were in the apartment at the time of the shooting.

“It probably wasn’t a random [shooting] - there were people there that knew each other,” he said.

Police have not announced any arrests yet.

It is unknown if the two shootings in Over-the-Rhine are connected or not.

(WXIX)