(CNN) At least three people were killed in a shooting Thursday at the Fifth Third Center in Cincinnati's Fountain Square, Cincinnati police Chief Eliot Isaac said.
The suspect is also dead, Isaac said. Two others were injured, he said.
Police finished securing the building just before 11 a.m. ET, the chief said.
The shooting began shortly after 9 a.m. The gunman entered a loading dock and opened fire before going into the lobby of the building, where three or four police officers engaged him, and gunfire was exchanged, Isaac said.
Authorities respond to the scene of Thursday's shooting at Cincinnati's Fountain Square.
"This is not normal, and it shouldn't be viewed as normal. This is abnormal. No other industrialized country has this level of active multiple shootings on a regular basis," Mayor John Cranley said in a news conference. "I think there's something deeply sick at work here."
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CINCINNATI -- A shooting at the Fifth Third Bank building in downtown Cincinnati Thursday morning left four people dead, including the gunman, the police said. It was unclear if the gunman was shot by police or he shot himself, Police Chief Eliot Isaac said at a press conference.
The shooter opened fire early Thursday morning at the building's loading dock, Isaac said. The gunman then entered the bank's lobby, where he exchanged gunfire with the police, Isaac said.
The situation appeared to be under control shortly before 10 a.m. ET but police said they are still investigating. One of the victims died at the scene, Isaac said.
A spokeswoman for University of Cincinnati Medical Center told CBS affiliate WKRC-TV that four victims had been transported to the hospital. The hospital later said on Twitter that two of the four victims had died, another was in critical condition and the fourth was in serious condition.
All four had suffered gunshot wounds. Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley said the gunman was "actively shooting innocent victims" and that it was a "horrific" scene.
Cranley noted the building on the city's Fountain Square houses popular ice cream, sandwich and pastry shops. He said it "could have been much, much worse" if not for the immediate police response to end the threat.
A WKRC-TV reporter posted pictures to Twitter showing police responding to the scene.
2 ambulances just left downtown shooting scene @Local12 pic.twitter.com/vZg0BECwKf — Jeff Hirsh (@local12jeff) September 6, 2018
Streets and sidewalks around the building were closed. Federal agents were on the scene.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Three people were killed in downtown Cincinnati on Thursday morning after a shooter opened fire in the central business district. The gunman also is dead, police said, and an additional five people suffered injuries in the attack.
Police Chief Eliot Isaac, who called the rampage “very horrific,” said officers exchanged gunfire with the shooter, and he was killed by a Cincinnati police officer.
Though the scene was announced as secure at about 9:15 a.m., the circumstances surrounding the shooting were unclear, and police said they are trying to determine a motive.
Three men and one woman were transported to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, hospital officials said. One has died, two are in critical condition and one is in serious condition. Each suffered gunshot wounds, officials said.
Police said there were multiple victims in the area of 511 Walnut Street in the city’s central business district, a few blocks from Great American Ball Park and the riverfront along the Ohio River.
Fifth Third Bank headquarters is a 30-story building that towers over Walnut Street and houses sandwich, ice cream and pastry shops. One victim was found inside an ice cream shop, severely wounded.
The gunman was shooting at innocent victims “and our officers were able to kill him and stop the threat,” Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley said.
Cranley also said it “could have been much, much worse” if not for the immediate police response.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Cranley told news media. “This is not normal, and it shouldn’t be viewed as normal. This is abnormal. No other industrialized country has this level of active multiple shooting on a regular basis … I think there’s something deeply sick at work here, and we as a country have got to deal with it.”
“These are things we see happening across the country, and we all have to be vigilant and prepared to deal with these situations,” Isaac said.
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms officials arrived on the scene to sweep the building, ATF spokesperson Suzanne Dabkowski said.
The shooting unfolded in the normally popular lunch spot of Fountain Square, a park at the city’s center. The park’s Twitter account said all planned events for Thursday would be canceled, adding that park officials are, “keeping the victims of today’s tragic events in our thoughts.”
Television footage showed bodies being carried out on stretchers and police surrounding the area around the Fifth Third Center skyscraper, which is the corporate headquarters for Fifth Third Bank.
“Terrible shooting incident in the heart of our city this morning,” City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld tweeted. “Multiple shot, and tragically there are fatalities. Details still emerging. Pray for our city.”
One witness, Leonard Cain, told the Cincinnati Enquirer that he was going inside a bank when someone yelled that he shouldn’t because of the shooting. He said a woman also was walking into the bank at the same time, but she had her headphones on and couldn’t hear their warnings.
“She walked in the door and he shot her,” Cain told The Enquirer, saying that he heard up to 15 shots fired.
A gunman opened fire at a bank in downtown Cincinnati on Thursday morning, killing three people and injuring five others before being shot dead by police, officials said.
The man entered the loading dock of the 30-story Fifth Third Bank building at Fountain Square and began shooting about 9 a.m. local time, Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac told reporters.
He then made his way to the lobby, where he was met by police officers who gunned him down.
“At least three or four of our officers did engage the suspect,” Isaac said.
Isaac said he could not confirm local media reports that the shooter was a disgruntled employee of the bank, and said he had no information that the victims were targeted.
The motive of the shooter, whose identity has not been released, was not known.
Mayor John Cranley said the shooting could have been “much worse” had it not been for the quick response by cops in the area.
“He was actively shooting innocent victims, it appears, and our officers were able to kill him and stop the threat very quickly,” Cranley told a news conference.
The police chief said he could not say whether the gunman shot himself in addition to being shot by police. No officers were injured, city officials said.
“There’s something deeply sick at work here and we as a country need to work on it,” the mayor added at a news conference.
Police said there were several victims in the area of 511 Walnut St. in the city’s central business district, a few blocks from Great American Ball Park along the Ohio River.
One victim was located at Fifth and Walnut streets, while another was discovered inside a nearby Graeter’s ice cream shop, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Three men and one woman were transported to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, hospital officials said.
Officials with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office said they were searching the home of the gunman in North Bend, Ohio, according to WLWT.
One witness, Leonard Cain, told The Enquirer that he was going inside a bank when someone yelled that he shouldn’t because of the shooting.
He said a woman also was walking into the bank at the same time, but had her headphones on and couldn’t hear their warnings.
“She walked in the door and he shot her,” Cain told the paper, saying that he heard up to 15 shots fired.
Zach Fritzhand, who works nearby, said he saw victims lying motionless on stretchers.
“There was definitely a lot of blood involved,” he said.
Michael Richardson, who works in the bank building, was just outside the main doors when he heard the gunshots and saw a man firing inside the lobby.
“I looked behind me and saw the guy – he shot and then he shot again. After that I started running. I went around to the north side of the building and sat down,” he told The Enquirer.
Richardson said he also saw a cop dragging a bloodied woman out of the lobby.
A visitor from Germany sat at a table on Fountain Square, enjoying a sunny morning when he heard some teens shouting about a shooting.
The man, who declined to give his name, at first thought it was a joke, but then saw the gunman firing into the bank.
“I heard rounds of gunfire. I saw a guy in a white shirt walk around and shooting like this — bing, bing, bing, bing,” he said as he aimed an imaginary gun and pulled its trigger.
Ebony Ginyard, who works at a Dunkin’ Donuts in Fountain Square, said she and other workers and customers dropped to the floor when the shooting erupted, according to Reuters.
She said the shooter was so close that she could smell the gunpowder as he fired.
“All he had to is look over the counter at us and we would have been shot,” Ginyard told reporters.
The mayor said the incident “is not normal, and it shouldn’t be viewed as normal,” adding the the United States is the only industrialized nation with frequent active shooter incidents.
“We as a country have to deal with it,” Cranley said.
