Today, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph T. Deters announced that his office completed its review of the September 6th mass shooting in downtown Cincinnati. The shooting occurred in the Fifth Third Center lobby located on Fountain Square. Prosecutor Deters found that the actions of the Cincinnati Police officers involved in the shooting were justified and that they did not violate any criminal statutes.

Prosecutor Deters and his office reviewed all of the video footage of the incident from the Fifth Third Center collected by the Cincinnati Police Department. Also reviewed were the interviews of all of the witnesses to the shooting and the responding officers.

On September 6th at approximately 9:10 a.m., Omar Enrique Santa- Perez entered the lobby of the Fifth Third Bank Center armed with a 9 mm handgun and multiple rounds of ammunition. He immediately began firing at people in the lobby of the building. Cincinnati Police responded within minutes and shot Perez. Four people including Perez were killed and two people were injured. At 9:15 a.m. the scene was declared secure.

Prosecutor Deters commented, “Pursuant to office policy, we review all police use of force cases. In this case the evidence was overwhelming that the shooting was justified.

Not only were the actions of the officers justified – – they were heroic. They responded quickly and saved numerous lives. We will never know how many people they saved that day. Sadly, three innocent people died and two people were seriously injured as a result of Perez’s actions.

People may take for granted the work that our first responders do, but I want to personally thank them for their bravery and service to our community.”