Gunfire erupted early today inside a crowded Cincinnati nightclub after a dispute broke out among several men, killing one man and injuring 15 other people, authorities said.
No suspect was in custody by the afternoon and police did not think the shooting at the Cameo club was terrorism-related. They said the nightclub has a history of gun violence.
Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac said one of the wounded was in "extremely critical condition." A hospital spokeswoman said two victims were listed in critical condition, but she had no other details.
Isaac identified the deceased as 27-year-old O'Bryan Spikes and said 15 others were injured, with some already treated and released from hospitals.
Police began receiving calls at 1:30 a.M. About gunshots at the club near the Ohio River east of downtown Cincinnati. Isaac said some 200 people were inside the club for music and dancing.
"What we know at this point in the investigation is that several local men got into some type of dispute inside the bar, and it escalated into shots being fired from several individuals," Isaac said. It wasn't clear how many people fired shots.
Club patron Mauricio Thompson told reporters that that it sounded like as many as 20 shots were fired as people scrambled to get away. He said there was a fight and people were yelling for security to intervene before shots began, and then people began scrambling to get away.
"Once I got outside, people coming out bloody, gunshot wounds on them, some of their friends carrying them to the car, rushing them to the hospital," Thompson told WCPO-TV. "It was just crazy."
Isaac said the club has its own internal security that uses detection wands and pat-downs, but that police believe several firearms got inside. Police said four officers were working security in the club's parking lot and some tried unsuccessfully to revive the man who died.
Cameo's Facebook profile said it caters to college students on Friday nights, when anyone over 18 is allowed in, while Saturdays are "grown and sexy night" for ages 21 and older.
The club has a history of gun violence, including a shooting inside the club on New Year's Day in 2015 and one in the parking lot that September, City Manager Harry Black said.
A phone call to the club Sunday morning by The Associated Press went unanswered.
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