5-year-old boy shot, killed in Madisonville

A 5-year-old boy has died after being shot in the head Saturday in Madisonville, Cincinnati police said.

Police said they responded to reports of a child shot in the 6200 block of Chandler Street just after noon, Sgt. Mike Miller said.

Miller said the 5-year-old was on the second floor of the home with his 11-year-old brother when the incident occurred. The older brother brought the victim downstairs to their mother and 911 was called immediately, according to investigators.

When first responders arrived, they found the child had been taken to a house next door, Miller said. Both houses were taped off and Chandler Street was closed as police investigated.

The boy was transported from the scene to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, Lt. Steve Saunders said.

Miller said investigators are working to determine what happened and that's it's possible the gunshot wound was self-inflicted.

The victim's mother is with counselors at the Cincinnati Police Department as police continue to investigate the shooting death, police said.

This is the second shooting this week in which a child was shot in Madisonville. On Wednesday, a 2-year-old and a man were left in critical condition after a shooting on Whetsel Avenue near Chandler Street. Ernest Cephas, 35, was arrested in connection with the shooting.

Executive Director of the Madisonville Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation Sara Sheets explained that Madisonville is a tight-knit, multi-generational community, and said the violence is unacceptable.

She drove to the scene of the shooting Saturday after hearing the news. In a colorful shirt that read "Madisonville," she hugged the other residents who had gathered near the crime tape.

"We've had two children hurt and killed by gun violence in one week," Sheets said. "It's extremely sad and it's problem that we have not just in Madisonville, but all over the country. This obsession with guns, the accessibility to guns, it's killing kids."

Whitney White has lived in Madisonville for over 23 years. She said she rushed to the scene after her mother called and said she saw the victim "covered in blood" on her porch.

"It's just a sad case," White said. "My son used to play with him all the time."