On September 7^th, shots were fired in the fifth third center killing three and injuring two more.

The three people killed were Prudhvi Raj Kandepi, Richard Newcomer and Luis Felipe. The man behind the gun was 29-year-old Omar Santa Perez.  Perez was killed that day by Cincinnati police after they were in a quick gun fight. On this day four people were killed which made it one of the bloodiest days in Cincinnati in a long time.

This shooting could have killed and injured way more, but the police acted very efficiently and got to the scene before more were dead. New information has come out about Omar Santa Perez; his family wanted him committed into a mental health facility. His family argued in the Palm Beach court house that he was violent and mentally ill.

Omar Santa Perez back story is he was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico but spent his young life in Anderson, South Carolina. His classmate Logan Howell, (according to msn.com), said that he was soft spoken and shy. In 2015, Omar moved to Cincinnati where he first lived in Forest Park with his aunt then moved to Avondale.

He eventually made his way to an apartment complex in North Bend. Omar also had legal trouble before this; he was caught with marijuana possession in Palm Beach, Florida. He also had atrespassing charge on his record.

Omar Santa Perez also had a tough time keeping a job. He was fired by two different companies. One of those companies was a watersport company. After he was fired a police report stated that he was lying on the ground smoking a cigar refusing to leave. He was also a part time college student at Cincinnati State, but the college does not know what he was studying there.

Richard Newcomer was 64 years old and a supervisor a construction project on Fifth/Third’s third floor. His was a father to three and has eight grandchildren. He was known for seeing the good in everyone. Luis Calderon was 48 and just moved to Cincinnati to work with Fifth/Third in last year. He moved here because he thought would be a better opportunity for his two children. Prudhvi Raj Kandepi was 25 years old was a programmer and consultant for Fifth/Third. He was known for always being positive and funny.

I think we can all say thank you to those police officers that responded quickly and effectively to the scene that day or we would have lost more people. These police officers risked their lives to protect the rest of the community.

I wish Omar Santa Perez would have gotten help at a mental health facility which would have maybe prevented this. Maybe now we will make people’s mental health more of a priority so we could help prevent future events like this.