The shooting hospitalized 1 juvenile
By: Molly Schramm , Taylor Weiter , Taylor Nimmo
ANDERSON TWP., Ohio — Defense attorneys Scott Crosswell and Merlyn Shiverdecker are representing Bengals running back Joe Mixon after a Monday night shooting connected to his Anderson Township home, the attorneys’ law firm confirmed on Wednesday.
Members from the law firm were at Mixon’s home on Ayers Road Wednesday afternoon. At this time, it is unclear if Mixon was home during the shooting, which took place around 8:30 p.m. Monday.
The night of the shooting, a WCPO crew on scene saw deputies enter Mixon’s home around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday with flashlights. Police tape was taken down from the property hours later. The shooting’s incident report said that shell casings were also found in the yard of the home.
A 911 call obtained by WCPO details several men and women running around the scene of the crime when one man pulled out a gun and ran toward the back of a house yelling. From there, several shots were heard. The 911 caller also said he was “at his athlete’s house.”
“You heard him running and running down there and you heard pop, pop, pop, pop, pop,” the 911 caller said. “Then, three other cars sped off.”
Some neighbors told WCPO they heard more than 10 gunshots.
In a letter to parents, Forest Hills School District confirmed the person injured went to Anderson High School. The incident report says the student was shot in the foot, and the school district said they’re OK and at home.
Tracey Schaeper, who lives down the road, said she believed the shooting was a result of ongoing “Nerf wars” between kids. Nerf wars include kids running around and shooting each other with Nerf blasters, which have darts made of foam.
“They were playing Nerf wars and apparently went into one of the neighbors’ yards back here and that neighbor opened fire. That’s what we believe to be true,” she said.
According to investigators, no arrests have been made in the shooting. It is unclear if a homeowner in the area was responsible for the shooting or if it was one of the juveniles present.
“I understand if perhaps they were, you know, encroaching onto a neighbor’s yard, absolutely tell them to get out of the yard,” Schaeper said. “But to fire rounds in the dark at teenagers that are playing a game is very scary.”
Reposted with permission from WCPO 9 Cincinnati