A Cincinnati man who claimed he opened fire in self-defense during a late-night clash in Over-the-Rhine is now facing at least 21 years to life behind bars for the killing of Paris Blye.
On Wednesday, a Hamilton County jury’s verdict caught up with 38-year-old Shawn Byrd, and a judge handed down the lengthy sentence after jurors rejected his self-defense story in the deadly shooting, according to WKRC. The outlet reports that the panel found his version of events did not meet Ohio’s legal standard for using deadly force.
Night of the shooting
The confrontation that ended Blye’s life unfolded around midnight on Aug. 20, 2024, on East Clifton Avenue in Over-the-Rhine, where officers arrived to find him suffering from gunshot wounds, FOX19 reported. Blye was rushed to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and was pronounced dead later that night.
Jury rejects self-defense claim
WKRC notes that on the stand, Byrd told jurors he pulled the trigger because he believed Blye had a weapon. Investigators, and ultimately the jury, concluded Blye did not have a weapon when he was shot. That clash between Byrd’s account and the physical evidence became the core of the trial and helped shape the sentence imposed on Wednesday.
Community context
The killing was one of several shootings reported in Over-the-Rhine that same night in 2024, a convergence that rattled neighbors and amplified concern about street violence in the dense urban neighborhood, WLWT reported in its initial coverage. At that early stage in the investigation, detectives had not publicly identified a motive.
In the days after the shooting, police urged anyone with information to call the Cincinnati Police Homicide Unit at 513-352-3542, according to FOX19. With Byrd’s conviction and sentencing now on the books, the case moves closer to legal closure for a neighborhood that has been living with its aftermath for months.
