Officers secured East Seventh Street for hours after gunfire inside Memories Lounge left one man dead early Sunday.
CINCINNATI, Ohio — A fatal shooting inside a downtown Cincinnati lounge early Sunday led police to clear the business, restrict access to part of East Seventh Street and launch an investigation that continued after the immediate scene was secured.
Cincinnati police said officers responded to Memories Lounge on the 30 block of East Seventh Street at about 1:30 a.m. for a report of a person shot. Officers found a man suffering from a gunshot wound, and the large emergency response disrupted the downtown block for several hours.
Police later identified the victim as 20-year-old Kameiro Blair-Martin. He was transported to University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where he died from his injuries. No arrest had been announced Sunday morning, and police had not publicly released information about a possible suspect.
Officers closed off part of Seventh Street as they established a crime scene and investigated inside and outside the lounge. Local television footage and reports showed numerous police vehicles in the area. The street remained restricted for several hours while investigators processed the scene.
The lounge also was cleared during the response. FOX19 reported that people were not being allowed back inside as the investigation continued and that it was not immediately clear when the business would reopen. Police did not announce a reopening timetable.
Initial information from the scene was incomplete. Early dispatch reports cited by WLWT indicated two people had been shot, but subsequent public information from Cincinnati police focused on Blair-Martin, who was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead. Authorities had not publicly confirmed another gunshot victim in their later account.
WLWT reported that officers at the scene characterized the shooting as targeted. The Police Department’s later information did not publicly describe a motive or explain what happened immediately before the gunfire. Investigators also had not said whether the victim and shooter knew each other.
The investigation unfolded in the heart of downtown Cincinnati during the early Sunday hours, when bars and other nightlife businesses can draw late-night crowds. Despite the large response and temporary street closure, police had not released evidence indicating a broader continuing threat in connection with the shooting.
Authorities had not disclosed whether surveillance video, witness accounts or other evidence had identified a suspect. Police also had not announced charges or provided additional details about the circumstances that led to the shooting.
The case remained under investigation Sunday as police worked to determine what happened inside Memories Lounge and who was responsible for Blair-Martin’s death.
Author note: Last updated Nov. 1, 2026.