South Cumminsville Shooting Injures Three on Borden Street; Gunman Sought

A burst of gunfire on Borden Street sent three people to the hospital before sunrise Sunday.

It left Cincinnati police searching South Cumminsville for the shooter.

Officers responding around 5 a.m. found evidence spanning multiple locations near Elmore and Borden streets. This included shell casings from different firearms.

Police established crime scenes outside the Elmore Street Cafe and near the intersection of Elmore and Beekman streets. A third scene stretched along a route toward Winton Terrace. Notably, that evidence included both handgun and rifle shell casings. Cincinnati police, however, have not said whether they believe more than one shooter was involved. No arrests have been announced in the South Cumminsville shooting.

What Happened on Borden Street

Two women and one man were hurt in the South Cumminsville shooting. Paramedics, meanwhile, took them to UC Medical Center and Good Samaritan Hospital. All three are expected to survive their injuries, though police have not released their names. A SWAT team joined the search for a suspect, but officers have not released a description.

Borden Street Has Seen Repeated Gun Violence

This is not the first time Borden Street has made headlines for gunfire. In 2023, police found 20-year-old Nyshoun Howard shot to death near Borden and Elmore. This was just blocks from Sunday’s scene. Two years earlier, in 2021, a shooting on the same stretch left Courtney Evans, 41, dead and two others wounded. All three incidents occurred within a few blocks of one another and underscored how often this stretch of Borden Street has appeared in Cincinnati homicide investigations. Still, neither of the earlier cases led to a named suspect, according to police records at the time.

Winton Terrace carries its own history of gun violence. The public housing complex has also recorded multiple shootings in recent years. That includes the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old there in 2023.

South Cumminsville and neighboring Winton Terrace have repeatedly appeared in Cincinnati police violence investigations over the past several years. Sunday’s shooting doesn’t appear connected to those earlier cases. However, it occurred in a corridor that has required repeated police responses despite broader citywide improvements in violent crime.

Part of a Citywide Pattern

Sunday’s shooting comes during a year in which more people are being wounded by gunfire even as fewer are being killed. Cincinnati police data through late June show 132 shooting victims so far in 2026. This is up 12 percent from 120 over the same period last year. Non-fatal shootings specifically climbed further, up 27 percent, from 89 victims to 106. Fatal shooting victims, meanwhile, fell from 31 to 26. This was part of a broader 27 percent drop in homicides citywide. Interim Police Chief Hennie has pointed to hot-spot policing and partnerships with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office as part of the department’s response.

The split has drawn its own scrutiny from local officials. Policing analyst Dr. Theron Bowman has suggested faster EMS response and improved trauma care could help explain why more shooting victims are surviving, though the exact cause remains unclear.

Earlier this year, The Cincinnati Exchange examined how scattered, unrelated shootings continue to challenge public perceptions of safety even as overall violent crime has declined. A separate weekend of gunfire earlier this year raised similar questions about department leadership and public safety.

What Comes Next

Police have not said what led to the shooting or whether the three victims were the intended targets. For residents along Borden Street, Sunday’s shooting is another entry on a list that already includes multiple fatal shootings over the past several years. Detectives continue processing evidence from the three crime scenes. Meanwhile, the search for the gunman continues.