Five individuals were injured following a shooting that took place in Cleveland’s Flats area last night. The incident appears to have occurred after a fight escalated outside of a local bar. According to FOX8, the shooting happened around 6:15 p.m. near the 1000 block of W 10th Street. Responding officers provided immediate aid to the wounded, including one person believed to be a suspect in the shooting.
The area was already receiving attention from Cleveland Fire personnel due to overcrowding at a nearby bar. It was during this response that the gunfire was heard, a police statement noted, as they were dispatched to the scene. In an act of swift regulatory enforcement, Mayor Justin Bibb expressed his outrage over the violence, stating, “I’m outraged by the shooting in The Flats this evening. Gun violence has no place in our city — period,” as reported by News 5 Cleveland. He further indicated a directive to close and board up the bar where the altercation began.
Preliminary findings suggest that the conflict started inside Play Bar & Grill, then moved outside, spurring the subsequent gunfire that led to five people getting injured. News 5 Cleveland identified the establishment located at the corner of W. 10th Street and Front Avenue. The site was subsequently boarded up overnight, and by morning, remnants of the incident were marked by the presence of police and yellow caution tape in the vicinity of West 10th and Main Street.
One eyewitness caught in the midst of the chaos, Mike Hamme, recounted his narrow escape to News 5 Cleveland. “I was in the car, was trapped trying to exit out of the flats, I was panicking trying to figure out what I was going to do. I was stuck and just sitting here, so I bent over and ducked and that's where my car got hit,” he said. His car was damaged during the incident, though he was unharmed. All victims were transported to a local hospital by Cleveland EMS, with the conditions of three victims reported as critical.
