A construction supervisor who was overseeing work on the Fifth Third Bank building in downtown Cincinnati was among those killed when a gunman opened there yesterday morning, according to news sources.
A spokesman for Gilbane Building Company said the company was “absolutely grief-stricken” over the death of 64-year-old Richard Newcomer, who was working on the third floor of the building at the time of the shooting. Wes Cotter said Newcomer "just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Newcomer was one of five people shot by 29-year-old Omar Perez, who opened fire in the lobby of the building with a 9mm semi-automatic pistol, sending terrified people running for cover. In addition to Newcomer, 25-year-old Pruthvi Raj Kandepi and 48-year-old Felipe Calderón were fatalities, according to the Hamilton County Coroner's Office. Two others remain hospitalized with injuries.
Perez was not a former or current employee of the bank, according to authorities.
Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac said Perez, who entered multiple businesses before going to the bank, was shot and killed by police officers who responded to the 9-1-1 call about an “active shooter” at the bank. Perez had multiple magazines and around 200 rounds of ammunition, Isaac said.
"Random mass shootings, which plague our nation, are not normal and we as a country can't allow them to be normalized," said Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley in a statement posted on Twitter. "Our hearts are broken today."
