16 wounded, 1 dead after shooting inside Cincinnati Nightclub

At least 16 people have been shot, one of them fatally, after a shooting early this morning inside a popular Cincinnati nightspot. One other victim remains in an extremely critical condition, per Cincinnati police Chief Eliot Isaac.

The mass shooting, which is the worst in the United States this year, occurred at about 1 a.m. inside Cameo nightclub in the city’s East End neighbourhood. Chief Isaac identified the deceased man as 27-year-old O’Bryan Raphael Spikes of Winton Hills. City spokesman Rocky Merz said the crime was the result of an altercation that began late last night.

At this stage police are unsure whether any of the shooters are among the victims. “The bar was very crowded, approximately a couple hundred people,” said Chief Isaac. “Several local men got into some type of a dispute inside the bar, and it escalated into shots being fired from several individuals.”

Eight of the victims were taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, including three in a serious condition and one in an extremely critical condition. Six additional victims are stable at various local hospitals, with four already treated for wounds and released.

The nightclub employed security guards who used hand-held metal detectors to ensure that no firearms were carried into the club. How more than one person evaded this is part of the investigation, which is in its early hours. No arrests have been made.