3 killed, 2 injured in Cincinnati shooting

Associated Press

CINCINNATI

A gunman carrying enough ammunition to cause “a bloodbath beyond imagination” killed three people and wounded two others Thursday morning at a high-rise office building in the heart of Cincinnati before dying in a hail of police gunfire.

The shooting at the 30-story Fifth Third Center sent people running for cover across the city’s Fountain Square amid cries of “Shooter!” Police responded within seconds, and four officers opened fire, bullets smashing through glass doors and the gunman falling to the floor, authorities said.

Police identified him as Omar Enrique Santa Perez, 29, but said they don’t know what motivated the attack.

Police Chief Eliot Isaac said the killer used a 9 mm handgun and was carrying magazines with some 200 rounds of ammunition.

“A very horrific situation,” Isaac said at the scene.

The building is home to Fifth Third Bancorp’s headquarters along with a number of other businesses, including ice cream, pastry and sandwich shops.

Police said the gunman, a Cincinnati-area resident since 2015, wasn’t a current or past Fifth Third employee. They said he went into a sandwich shop and possibly other businesses before entering the lobby and opening fire around 9:10 a.m.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said the rapid police response probably prevented many more casualties. He said one investigator warned it could have been “a bloodbath beyond imagination.”

Afterward, police swarmed the gunman’s apartment in North Bend, Ohio, about 15 miles west of Cincinnati.