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At least three men were killed and two others were injured when an armed gunman opened fire on the fifth center in the famous Fountain Square, as the work day began Thursday. When four police officers arrived, they shot the suspect through glass windows and killed him, said Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac.
The suspect, Omar Enrique Santa Perez, had a gun and more than 200 rounds, the police said.
But we still do not know very well this 29-year-old suspect.
He was not a current or former employee of the center, whose main tenant is the headquarters of Fifth Third Bank, and officials say that they are not sure of his relationship with surrounding businesses.
He lived about 15 miles west of Cincinnati in the North Bend town, Ohio, since at least 2015, said Isaac.
The authorities were trying to determine what might have motivated the shooter to carry out the rampage, but said he had acted alone.
A SWAT team and bomb squad investigators searched the apartment a few hours after the shot in the hope of learning more about him, but the police did not Published no details on the search.
"This is not normal, and this should not be considered normal.This is abnormal.No other industrialized country has this level of multiple shots active on a regular basis," said Mayor John Cranley. "I think there is something deeply sick at work here."
The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have responded to the scene and are assisting the Cincinnati police in their investigation, the offices said.
The victims
The three men killed were Luis Felipe Calderon, 48; Pruthvi Raj Kandepi, 25 years old; and Richard Newcomer, 64, according to the Hamilton County Coroner's Office.
A newcomer, a superintendent of Gilbane Building Company, was working on Thursday at the fifth center, said Gilbane spokesman Wes Cotter.
One of Newcomer's colleagues, Juan Manuel Montoya, was taking a break at the beginning of the shoot. As he was helping others to take cover, Montoya said the newcomer was injured in the basement of the building and ran for help from the doctors.
The newcomer had worked for the company for four years, overseeing trade workers like Montoya.
"It's a shock to which none of us could ever have expected and we focus on prayer for his family and its success," Cotter said.
The University of Cincinnati Medical Center has received gunshot victims, a woman and three men, said Kelly Martin, senior director of UC Health. Two people have died, one is in critical condition and the other is in serious condition, she said.
"I'm next, I'm next"
The gunman was one of dozens of people visiting stores, business offices, hotels and restaurants in Fountain Square on Thursday morning.
Police say that he arrived before 9 o'clock and went into a sandwich shop. Later, he accessed the tower through a loading dock and opened fire.
The workers quickly fled and hid in the toilets and closets when they heard a gust of fire and a rifle smell.
Another employee, Michele Parks, said she was about to go to the bank when Cook stopped her.
"There was nowhere to go," Parks told WCPO. "The only thing we could do was protect one another, go to the bathroom and pray that everything was fine."
A witness, James Walker, told CNN affiliate WLWT that he had heard of eight shots and had knelt down.
"I sort of fell to the ground and all the cops started to arrive," he said. "I'm still shaking."
Hollie Silverman from CNN contributed to this report.
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