Cincinnati Gunman Kills Three and Is Fatally Shot by Police

A gunman walked into a 31-story office tower in downtown Cincinnati on Thursday morning and opened fire, fatally shooting three people and wounding two others before he was killed in an exchange of gunfire with police officers, authorities said.

The gunman was identified as Omar Enrique Santa Perez, 29, of North Bend, Ohio, which is about 15 miles west of Cincinnati, Chief Eliot Isaac of the Cincinnati Police Department told reporters Thursday afternoon. He said Perez had acted alone. While officials were unsure of his motive, the chief said he may have had “some mental health issues.”

“This is clearly an act of grotesque violence to innocent people and it should frighten all of us,” Mayor John Cranley said. “It has happened too much around this country and we as a country have got to figure out how to end it.”

The authorities received calls around 9:10 a.m. about shots fired at the Fifth Third Center building, Isaac said. He said police believed the gunman had entered through a loading dock and began firing. He then moved into one of the building’s two lobbies and was “engaged” by four police officers, the chief said.

Isaac said the officers and the gunman exchanged gunfire. He said Perez was shot multiple times by the officers, causing him to fall to the ground before he was handcuffed. No officers were injured.

Perez used a 9-millimeter semi-automatic pistol in the shootings and had multiple magazines and a few hundred rounds of ammunition, the chief said. Officials believe Perez obtained the pistol legally.

Before entering the lobby and opening fire, Perez went into several businesses around Fountain Square, including a Potbelly Sandwich Shop, the chief said.

Authorities do not believe Perez had been employed by any nearby businesses, Isaac said.

Perez filed a lawsuit this year against CNBC and TD Ameritrade that a federal judge said “borders on the delusional,” according to court documents.

According Perez’s complaint, which was filed in June in federal court in Ohio, Perez alleged that he had been defamed him and that his digital communications were being monitored. A judge dismissed the case, writing that it was “rambling” and suggesting that it was “wholly incredible.”

About 3,000 people work in the Fifth Third Center tower, which rises above the Fountain Square area, the downtown business district in the city of about 298,000.

The tower houses the corporate headquarters for Fifth Third Bancorp, the regional bank holding company that controls Fifth Third Bank, which has a branch adjoining the tower.

The Hamilton County coroner’s office identified the men killed in the shooting as Richard Newcomer, 64; Prudhvi Raj Kandepi, 25; and Luis Felipe Calderon, 48.

Newcomer was an employee of a construction company that was doing work on the building’s third floor, said a spokesman for the company, Gilbane Building Co. Newcomer was an experienced superintendent who oversaw tradesmen at construction sites and had been with the company for three years, said the spokesman, Wes Cotter.

“He was a great employee,” Cotter said. “We are just heartbroken. He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time this morning.”

The police chief said one of the victims died on the scene, while the others were transported to a hospital. He said some of the victims were shot several times.

The police searched Perez’s home in North Bend, Isaac said, noting that the department would later release body camera footage of the shooting.

Leonard Cain, who works inside the bank, told The Cincinnati Enquirer that he was on a break outside when he saw someone try to stop a woman from entering the building. “She had her headphones and her cellphone. She walked in the door. And that’s when the guy opened fire,” he said.

U.C. Health, which runs the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, said in a Twitter post Thursday morning that the center had received four victims with gunshot wounds — three men and one woman. Two of the people were dead, the post said. A spokeswoman said in a statement later Thursday that one victim was in critical condition, and the other was in fair condition.

Stacie Haas, vice president of public relations for Fifth Third Bank, said in a statement that the shooting was a “terrible event.”

“We continue to work with law enforcement as we ensure the safety of our employees and customers,” the statement said.

Laura Trujillo, a spokeswoman for Fifth Third Bancorp, said in a statement that the gunman “was not a former employee or current bank employee.” She had earlier declined to answer questions regarding whether the victims were employees or affiliated with the company. The tower has two lobbies, one with access to Fountain Square and one that opens onto Walnut Street. Four retail food businesses rent space in the lobbies, which are separated inside by a bank of elevators. The loading dock is on Walnut Street.

Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, called the shooting “a senseless act of gun violence” and commended the authorities who responded. He said the state would provide any necessary resources to the local police.

The Cincinnati Reds held a moment of silence “in honor of the victims” before the national anthem at Thursday night’s game against the San Diego Padres.

City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld wrote on Twitter that it was such a “sick, tragic way for this day to begin.”

“The scourge of gun violence leaves only loss,” he said.