Children were playing at a park in Cincinnati's Evanston neighborhood Thursday evening when gunfire erupted nearby, and a woman nearby caught the sound of several shots on video. The gunfire was reported near Hewitt Avenue and Hackberry Street just before 7 p.m., according to the woman who filmed it, while Cincinnati police separately responded to a shots-fired call blocks away on Kinney Avenue around the same time.
Several shots can be heard on the video obtained by FOX19, which the woman said she recorded while children were playing at the park. She told the station the gunfire happened near Hewitt Avenue and Hackberry Street just before 7 p.m. No injuries or arrests tied to that gunfire have been reported.
Around the same time, Cincinnati police said they responded to a shots-fired call in the 1700 block of Kinney Avenue, just blocks from where the video was recorded. The station's report notes that investigators have not confirmed whether the two incidents are connected. Police said they found shell casings at the Kinney Avenue scene, and a shot went into the window of a home there.
Neighbors Describe a Usually Quiet Stretch of Evanston
A nearby resident who spoke with the outlet said the area is normally quiet and that hearing gunfire in broad daylight left families on edge. The same resident said the community has taken steps to reduce violence in the neighborhood, even as Thursday's shots unsettled people nearby.
Another resident offered a tentative read on what happened near the park, telling the station, “Thank God nobody got hit. Maybe it was a prank.” That comment reflects one resident's speculation rather than a police determination, and no official confirmation of injuries in the park-area gunfire has been reported.
A Pattern of Shootings Near Cincinnati Recreation Spots
Thursday's incidents land amid a broader city effort to shore up safety at parks and recreation sites. Cincinnati City Council set aside $1 million in the current budget cycle for added park safety infrastructure, according to Local 12, with officials identifying four Recreation Commission locations and four park locations as priorities for new lighting and cameras. The full slate of planned safety measures across those sites carries a price tag of more than $2 million, and more than 70 cameras have already gone up in the West End over the past few months.
That push traces back to the 2023 death of Domonic Davis, Local 12 reported, and gained fresh urgency after 11-year-old QueenEr'Re Reed was shot and killed at Laurel Playground on New Year's Day, according to a separate FOX19 report. City officials have since named Laurel Playground in Ezzard Charles Park among their top priorities for safety investments, and improvements are already underway at Grant Park, which has also seen multiple shootings involving teenagers. Near Laurel Playground, one resident told the station he and his children avoid the area at night.
Evanston's Recent History With Gunfire
Evanston itself has seen shootings before. A report from WLWT described how ShotSpotter technology previously helped Cincinnati police reach an Evanston shooting scene quickly and begin investigating. A separate WLWT account of a turbulent weekend in the city noted a 43-year-old man shot in the 1700 block of Kinney Avenue who was driven to the hospital by car, and three people shot outside Urban Air Adventure Park in Oakley who were also taken to the hospital by car.
For now, the core questions remain open. Investigators have not said whether the gunfire near the park and the Kinney Avenue shots-fired call are linked, and no injuries or arrests have been confirmed in either incident as the investigation continues.
