A mass shooting that left 12 people wounded on Saturday afternoon at a summer festival in Ohio stemmed from “a dispute involving two rival groups,” according to police.
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Shots rang out from two gunmen, one from each group, just after 5:30 p.m. near the Old West End Festival in Toledo. A dozen people were hurt, with the oldest victim being 61 and the youngest 14, police Lt. Dan Gerken said Saturday, noting most were in their early 20s.
Toledo Police Chief Michael Troendle said Tuesday that a dispute between rival groups led to “a foot chase” and a physical altercation in which one person produced a firearm and shot, prompting someone from the rival group to do the same.
“While investigators believe some of the victims are intentionally targeted, the majority of those injured appear to have been innocent bystanders caught up in this senseless act of violence,” Troendle said in a news briefing.
Police estimate that three of the victims were involved in the incident, while nine were caught in the crossfire. All of the victims are expected to survive, with nine already having been released from the hospital, Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said at the Tuesday briefing.
Toledo Fire & Rescue Chief Allison Armstrong said bystanders helped in the aftermath of the shooting by administering tourniquets to the injuries of the victims and providing them with comfort.
“While that act showed us the worst of humanity, what followed in the moments after showed us the very best,” Armstrong said.
Detectives have continued conducting interviews since the incident and “identified several persons of interest,” Troendle said. The gunmen police believe to be responsible are between the ages of 18 and 24 and are still at large, he said.
Before the shooting, a deputy sheriff at the festival was about to check a bag when someone grabbed it and ran off with it, Troendle said, adding that police are “still trying to piece all that together.” It is not clear whom the bag belonged to, or if the firearm was used in the shooting.
Troendle said investigators have recovered two firearms that are believed to be connected with the shooting.
“While there’s still work to be done, I can tell you that investigators continue to make progress,” Troendle said.
Kapszukiewicz said young people need to be held accountable for their actions.
“The reality is they did something that deserves punishment and accountability, and when our police find them and arrest them, they will be held accountable,” he said of the gunmen.
Kapszukiewicz also said he thinks the city should find a date to finish hosting the Old West End Festival, which was halted a day early after Saturday’s shooting. He said late summer or early September would be a good time to “put a bow on that weekend.”
Changes, including strengthened curfews and more opportunities to check bags, are being discussed for events like the Old West End Festival, Kapszukiewicz said.
“Our heart is broken, and it will take time to work through what happened, and to seek to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” he said.