By Dan Yount
The Cincinnati Herald
Bond was set at $1.5 million Friday, November 22, for one of the suspects in a fatal shooting near Northwest High School Thursday, November 21, that left one dead and one injured. The incident occurred just after school was dismissed. The school went into immediate lockdown and was closed Friday, as all activities were canceled.
Brian Holmes Jr., 18, of East Price Hill is held at the Hamilton County jail on charges of murder and felonious assault, court records show.
The second suspect, Jamar Flagg, 17, of Colerain Township, is held without bond at the county’s juvenile detention facility in Mt. Auburn.
The shooting occurred about a block from the school in the area of Newmarket Drive and Butterwick Drive about 2:45 p.m. Thursday.
Colerain Township police implored the judge during Holmes bond hearing to give him a high bond. They said he was asked to come to school for a fight, but was armed with a gun.
The dispute was over the sister of one of the victims, police wrote in Flagg’s arrest report.
Holmes and Flagg were walking on Newmarket Drive near Butterwick when two vehicles pulled up to the intersection, police records show.
“The occupants exited the vehicle to approach defendant and co-defendant when co-defendant pulled a (.45-caliber) gun and started shooting,” police wrote in Flagg’s arrest report.
The defendant and victim, who were transported to University of Cincinnati Medical Center, were in a dispute over victim’s sister, according to the police report. The defendant admitted to be with shooter before, during and after incident,
The victim, Rashad Ameer Shahid, 25, was found fatally shot and the other victim, Dante Walker, was wounded and taken to the hospital, police said.
A short time later, police took Holmes and the other teen suspect into custody on murder charges.
Shahid did not have a connection to the school.
Lindsey Creecy, Northwest School District public relations coordinator, said, “We appreciate all of the support we have received from our local law enforcement agencies and the cooperation of our teachers and staff in keeping our buildings and our students safe. We are saddened by the events that transpired yesterday afternoon in our community’’
At the time when gunshots were heard, students who were outside of the building were immediately ushered back into the school and the doors were locked, Creecy said. Students were held in a secure location until family members arrived to pick them up. Their parents were notified by phone and email of the lockdown.
Two of the students involved were NWHS students, she said, Shahid was a past NWHS graduate from 2012 and the second student incurred non-life threatening injuries.
“Our administration has confirmed that there was not an altercation that took place during school or on school property involving these two individuals, and that our administrators followed the proper de-escalation protocols to mitigate any potential situation,’’ she said.
“Our district has policies in force to ensure the safety of our students and staff. We take this responsibility seriously,” said Todd Bowling, Superintendent of the Northwest Local School District. “We are reviewing and assessing all of the policies at this time to make sure that we continue to take the proper steps when incidents take place. Our administrators and staff are vigilant in placing a priority on maintaining the safety of our students,” said Bowling.