A man has been taken into custody following a fatal incident that occurred outside a Reading, Ohio, establishment last month. According to FOX19, 32-year-old Kenneth Thompson Jr. has been charged with two counts of murder and two counts of felonious assault in connection to the shooting death of 53-year-old Paul Montgomery Jr.
Details released by Reading police allege that Thompson and Montgomery were involved in a verbal dispute on November 15 outside the Lounge Bar and Restaurant. The argument began in the parking lot, and then, in a lethal turn of events, Thompson is said to have produced a firearm and discharged it multiple times, striking Montgomery in the chest and torso before fleeing the scene. Montgomery was rushed to the UC Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead, as confirmed by Local12 News.
The incident, which took place at approximately 11:30 p.m. on the night of the occurrence, culminated in Thompson's arrest over a month later yesterday. The subsequent investigation by Reading police linked Thompson to the crime scene and the fatal shots fired that night, WCPO reported.
Thompson is currently being held at the Hamilton County Justice Center as the case progresses. It is during this period that a community reckons with the profound loss and senseless violence that unfolded in a space that once bustled with the clamor of nightly patrons but is now marred by the echo of gunfire and a life taken too soon.
