Police attempt to determine why an armed man opened fire in downtown



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Police say they are trying to learn why a gunman carrying a large quantity of ammunition began shooting in a downtown Cincinnati building, killing three people and injuring two others before four officers opened the door. fire on him.

Chief of Police Eliot Isaac says he will study the images of the officers' cameras and the security of the 30-story building at Fifth Third Bancorp headquarters. companies in the building.

Authorities estimate that 29-year-old Omar Enrique Santa Perez has been living in the Cincinnati area since 2015. Police raided his apartment in North Bend, Ohio, about 24 kilometers away.

Isaac says the shooter used a 9mm handgun with some 200 rounds. The agents arrived in seconds to drop him in a gust of gunfire.

Authorities hope to have more information to publish on Friday.

The records show that the gunman once lived in South Florida and was charged with non-violent crimes years ago.

Police said he had entered a sandwich shop and possibly other businesses before entering the lobby and opening fire around 9:10.

Hamilton County Attorney Joe Deters said the police's quick response had probably prevented many victims. He said that an investigator said that it could have been "a bloodbath beyond the imagination".

Leonard Cain told The Enquirer that he was going to the bank when someone alerted him of the shooting. He said that a woman wearing a helmet did not hear the warnings and went into the bank and was shot at.

The Hamilton County Coroner's Office identified the victims as Pruthvi Kandepi, 25; Luis Calderon, 48 years old; and Richard Newcomer, 64 years old.

One of the victims died on the scene. Two other people died at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. The wounded were reported in critical condition and under fair conditions.

Fountain Square is often the place for concerts, dances, food trucks and other events around lunch or evening.

"It could have been any of us," said Mayor John Cranley. He praised the police and emergency staff saying, "It could have been a lot, a lot worse."

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Associated Press writers John Seewer in Toledo, Alexandra Villarreal in New York and AP photographer John Minchillo in Cincinnati contributed.

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Follow Dan Sewell on http://www.twitter.com/dansewell

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