Police have identified five suspects from a violent fight with a crowd of “100 or so people.” Videos of the fight have made rounds online and sparked outrage from leaders nationwide.
Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge did not identify the suspects, who are not in custody, or their charges during an afternoon press conference July 28, but said anyone involved who caused harm to another person will “face consequences.”
Multiple videos of the 3 a.m. fight Downtown on July 26 circulated on social media over the weekend, raising concerns about safety amid the city’s recent push to reduce crime in its urban core.
In one of the videos, a group of people is seen striking a man until he falls to the ground as they continue to punch and kick him. Shortly after, another man is seen punching a woman in the face, causing her to fall to the ground, where she remained motionless until a person helped pick her back up.
The fight has become the subject of outcry by people such as Vice President JD Vance, Elon Musk and Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval.
Politics, race and crime: Why a fight in Cincinnati went viral on social media
City leaders are expected to discuss public safety concerns Downtown during a community meeting at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, July 29, at the main branch of the Cincinnati Public Library. City Manager Sheryl Long, Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge and 3CDC President and CEO Steve Leeper plan to attend.
Here’s what we know.
When and where did the fight happen?
The fight broke out around 3 a.m. on Saturday, July 26, near Fourth and Elm streets in downtown Cincinnati, Theetge said.
The chief said police only received one 911 call about the fight at 3:06 a.m. Two officers who were stuck in gridlock traffic, she said, responded six minutes later at 3:12 a.m. When officers arrived, the fight had broken up and the majority of people were gone.
The chief defended officers’ response time to the incident, noting that traffic was congested due to what she said was more than 150,000 people in the area that day to attend the Cincinnati Music Festival, a Reds baseball game and the Big3 basketball game.
Has anyone been arrested after the fight Downtown?
No arrests have been made as of Monday evening, police said, but five people have been charged in connection with the fight. Theetge advised those people involved to turn themselves in as investigators continue to identify people in videos of the fight.
“Anyone who put their hands on another individual during this incident in an attempt to cause harm will face consequences,” Theetge said. “I don’t care which side of the incident or the fight they were on.”
More: Cincinnati police chief says 5 were charged in Downtown fight shown in viral videos
She declined to identify them or their charges publicly, citing the ongoing effort to locate them. Police anticipate more people will be charged.
What led up to the fight Downtown?
Police have not provided any additional details on what led up to the fight.
Theetge previously said the fight was not connected to the Cincinnati Music Festival that took place from Thursday to Saturday.
“This was a sudden dispute between individuals following a verbal altercation,” Theetge said in her July 26 statement. The “verbal altercation” can be seen at the beginning of one of the videos shared on Facebook.
On Tuesday, July 29: Downtown residents host meeting with city leaders to talk crime
What have officials said about the Downtown fight?
Local officials and national figures have weighed in on the fight, which has gone viral online:
What we don’t know
It is not known what led up to the fight. Theetge did not provide additional details during a news conference Monday, saying that body camera footage from officers who arrived showed the crowd had mostly dispersed by that point.
Police have not said exactly how many people were injured or the extent of their injuries. Theetge said she did not know whether anyone went to the hospital afterward, but all victims were still on the scene when officers arrived and appeared to be “as well as could possibly be expected.”
Reporters Cameron Knight and Quinlan Bentley contributed
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati fight video leads 5 suspects to be identified by police