Update 3:50 p.m. Cincinnati police have identified the 16-year-old as Davon Mullins.
Police and city officials have scheduled a news conference for 5 p.m. at District 1 headquarters Downtown.
Mayor Mark Mallory insisted that the shooting of Mullins on Fountain Square should not cast a pall on what has become one of the cityÂ’s most vibrant entertainment venues.
“A shooting incident can happen anywhere,’’ Mallory told the Enquirer. “You know that these kind of things don’t happen in downtown Cincinnati very often. This was an isolated incident.”
When an officer is confronted by a person who pulls a gun on him or her, Mallory said, “their training dictates their actions. Nobody wants to see a 16-year-old die in this community for any reason. But this was an extraordinary circumstance.”
Update 2:15 p.m. A 16-year-old who was shot by police on Fountain Square Saturday night has died, Hamilton County Coroner Dr. Anant Bhati has confirmed exclusively to The Enquirer.
Bhati said the deceased was 16, but did not release the teen's name, saying he wasn't sure the teen's family had been contacted.
The teen suffered a fatal wound to the chest, Bhati said.
"He was hit in the chest, the bullet entering from the left side," Bhati said.
The bullet traveled through the lungs and went though the other side of the chest, causing a significant amount of bleeding.
The teen was taken to University Hospital, then the morgue, Bhati said.
Police have refused to provide any details ahead of a 4 p.m. news conference.
Meg Olberding, spokeswoman for City Manager Milton Dohoney, said the Cincinnati Police Department has been going through witness accounts and video today to piece together what happened.
The teen is the second Cincinnati police-involved death this year. And it's the third in a year.
On April 18, Cincinnati Police Sgt. Andrew Mitchell fatally shot David "Bones" Hebert, 40, of Northside.
The shooting happened after police had been searching for Hebert in response to a 911 call from a man alleging Hebert attempted to rob him at knifepoint. When confronted by police, Hebert drew a knife and moved toward two officers, police told The Enquirer earlier this year.
Toxicology reports show Hebert had psychedelic mushrooms and marijuana in his system and that he had a blood-alcohol content of .333, almost four times the legal limit for driving in Ohio.
The Hebert case has been sent to Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters. Deters told the Enquirer his office will be reviewing the case, specifically determining whether the shooting was justified, this week.
On Sept. 18, 2010, Harry Seavey Jr., 51, was killed by Cincinnati police. Seavey, an enforcer for the Iron Horsemen motorcycle gang, was shot to death in the doorway of a Camp Washington bar in a shootout with two officers.
Update 12:36 p.m. City council Wendell Young, a former police officer, was downtown Saturday night when the shooting, just a few blocks away at the Aronoff Center. When he left the Aronoff Walnut Street was blocked and he heard from police officers about the shooting.
Young bristles at the notion that there is anything unsafe about being on Fountain Square at night.
“Who can remember the last time something like this happened?,’’ Young said. “If anything people should be reassured. In this case, there was a person there who was a risk to others. The police intervened and prevented him from harming anyone. That is the way it is supposed to work.”
Young said he is aware that there is a perception among many suburbanites that it is not safe to come downtown.
“I tell my suburban friends that the only way you can say that is if you haven’t been there,’’ Young said. “Go downtown and experience Fountain Square. Go downtown and experience the restaurants, the Aronoff Center. Then tell me you don’t feel safe downtown. It is a myth.”
Update 12:06 p.m. Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters called a shooting on Fountain Square "unacceptable."
"You cannot have this type of act in the city's core," Deters said. "You don't see this in Times Square."
Deters is meeting Cincinnati Police Chief James Craig for the first time Wednesday. At the top of list of discussion topics: violence.
"I'm anxious to hear what his plans are for dealing with it," Deters said.
"Here's the reality: asking people not to shoot each other doesn't work because there are people who don't care," Deters said.
And when there are arrests, his prosecutors find witnesses don't want to cooperate.
"They want to take care of justice," Deters said. "They want to shoot the person who shot them."
-- Sherry Coolidge.
Update 11:10 a.m. By mid-morning Sunday on Fountain Square, there was not the slightest hint of the violence that had taken place there nearly 15 hours before.
No police tape surrounded the area where the shooting took place; no police officers were on the scene – only Downtown Cincinnati Inc. workers cleaning the pavement and moving tables and chairs.
Twenty yards from where the shooting took place, eight Yoga students stretched out on mats, going through their graceful routines. A few dozen people sat in the morning sunshine – some sipping coffee or water, some reading newspapers.
Tourists from the Westin Hotel strolled around the fountain pushing baby carriages.
Kyle Stinnett, 33, was there Sunday morning. He is a homeless man who said he has a college degree but can’t find work. He spends many days and nights on Fountain Square and goes to many of the free shows, “just to have something to do, listen to some music, watch the girls.”
Saturday night, he witnessed the shooting.
“We were all having a good time, listening to hip-hop music, when I caught out of the corner of my eye a cop wrestling with some guy,’’ Stinnett said. “I saw the guy pull the gun, then there was a blur and a gunshot.
“This was crazy,’’ Stinnett said. “I’m from the street; I live on the street and I know one thing – you pull a gun on a cop and you are going down. That’s all there is to it. It was just crazy.”
Nearby, Larry Cook sat at a table behind the Fountain, sipping coffee as he waited for the bus to arrive at Government Square that would take him back to Madisonville.
“I don’t spend a lot of time down here at night, but I come out here all the time, waiting for the bus,’’ Cook said. “What happened down here last night was crazy. I hope it never happens again. But the way people are these days, you just don’t know.”
Update 10:37 a.m. – Police were continuing their investigation into the police shooting of an as-yet unidentified man early Saturday evening on a crowded Fountain Square.
Jason Barron, spokesman for Mayor Mark Mallory, said Police Chief James Craig would hold a press conference later today, “as soon as police have gathered enough information on what happened here.”
An unidentified officer, responding to calls about a large group of young people, some of whom apparently had guns, saw a man who appeared to holding his waist, Craig said.
The officer searched the man and felt something hard, Craig said. The two struggled; the suspect pulled a gun and was shot by the officer, Craig said.
Neither the officer nor the person who was shot has been identified.
Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls, a downtown resident, insisted that the shooting – along with another police shooting Friday at Findlay Market – should not be signals to the public that those two iconic Cincinnati locations are unsafe.
“This is the exception to the rule; and it is a terrible exception,’’ Qualls said.
“What it does say is that no one – on Fountain Square or anywhere else in this city – should expect to have a gun, wave it at a police officer, and not expect there to be serious consequences.”
The shooting was on the square's northeastern corner in front of Fifth Third Bank. The suspect was taken to a hospital, but his condition was unknown late Saturday.
Craig said the officer was not harmed.
Morning report: Saturday night's incident shattered a party-like atmosphere on the Square on a hot, humid evening. Police closed Fountain Square about an hour after the first reports at about 7:30 p.m. and crowds of people hung around the square's perimeter in clumps.
At least one person was in handcuffs about 7:45 p.m., but Craig said there had been no arrests as of Saturday evening.
“We know there were calls being made about a group of young people and the presence of a gun,” said Craig, who earlier Saturday had provided details about a shooting by a police officer Friday near Findlay Market.
"This is not a good time," he said. "There's too much violence."
Mallory insisted that Cincinnatians should not be afraid to visit Fountain Square.
"I want to emphasize that downtown Cincinnati is safe," he said.
Even an hour or so after the shooting, crowds remained inside Rock Bottom Brewery on the Square and Cadillac Ranch on Sixth Street, both less than 100 yards from the shooting site.
Police also closed Walnut Street south of Sixth Street.
In May 2003, a man was shot on Fountain Square and a stray bullet struck Rock Bottom Brewery, which is on the north side of the Square. Police said an argument between two men led to that shooting.
Workers at Mynt Martini next to Fifth Third said they heard shots and directed customers inside.
One man at the scene, Dale Telinda of Mount Auburn, said he was walking through the tunnel next to Rock Bottom Brewery and heard at least one shot, then saw a man struggling with police.
There were reports about 8:50 p.m. that police were still looking for suspects in the blocks surrounding Fountain Square and for a gun they believe was thrown on top of a building near 8th and Walnut.
Craig said he did not know if the reports were related to the Fountain Square shooting.
City Council member Cecil Thomas, a former Cincinnati police officer, said the prevalence of guns with young people is the problem.
"We know there are a lot of guns out there," Thomas said. "We know there are a lot of young people getting their hands on guns. It's unfortunate that this individual chose to come downtown with a gun."
Council member Chris Bortz said it was critical that Fountain Square be perceived as safe.
"If you don't feel safe, you're not going to go to a place for entertainment," he said. "A kid just pulled a gun on Fountain Square. That's reason enough not to feel safe."
The Slam Concert Series was taking place Saturday night on Fountain Square. The weekly series features poets, singers, rappers and writers, according to http://www.myfountainsquare.com. The concert started at 7 p.m.; the final act was scheduled for 10 p.m.
Sean Herron is the promoter for the Saturday night concerts.
He said the concert hadn't started at the time of the shooting, and there typically isn't much of a crowd until 8 or 9 p.m. This is the 12th week of the series and he said there have been no problems.
"We've never had a fight. I've never seen an argument. We've had zero issues," said Herron, founder of SelfDiploma. Acts range from hip-hop and rhythm & blues to pop artists and DJs. Crowds have been as big as 6,500.
"We've had more suburban white kids on the square than any event that's ever happened," he said.
Ruth Solomon of New Philadelphia was Downtown on Saturday with her friends Carolyn Williams of Price Hill and Amy Stewart of Independence.
They were in the city for the Black Family Reunion, which they commended for its safety. They weren't worried about visiting Fountain Square because they've been to five or six of the Saturday concerts this year.
Solomon, a Cincinnati native, said she has always felt safe here.
"I don't want to be looking over my shoulder Downtown," she said. "When I want to get away to the city, I want to be able to have fun and be safe."
A group from Louisville was eating at Rock Bottom Brewery when the shooting happened. Neil Watkins and his wife and two children, plus two other couples and their four children had come to town to watch his son Luke, 5, play football in Anderson Township.
Watkins said they come to town several times a year and always eat at Rock Bottom on Fountain Square.
He said they were in the restaurant, and his friend was standing outside the restaurant smoking when the shooting happened. A woman ran in and said there had just been a shooting. Other people, including his friend, also ran into the restaurant to take cover.
Afterward, Watkins said that while they were a bit shaken, especially young Luke, "no way would this ever affect our willingness to come (back to Cincinnati)."
He also praised a Cincinnati police officer who talked to Luke and calmed him down after the incident.
"This happens in Louisville, too," he said. "It happens in any big city. It's random. These things happen."
Photographer Carrie Cochran, staff writer Cliff Peale, Howard Wilkinson, Laura Baverman, and copy editors Karen Bells and Mark Braam contributed to this story.
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