CLEVELAND — Cleveland police are investigating after one man was killed and another injured during a shooting that occurred near Market Square Park in Cleveland Wednesday evening.
Around 9:45 p.m., officers were called to the area of West 25th Street for reports of shots fired.
Once on scene, officers found a 41-year-old man with a gun shot wound to the back and a 42-year-old man with a gun shot wound to the leg and a graze to the chest, police said.
Both men were transported to MetroHealth Medical Center by EMS where the 41-year-old man, later identified as Alexander Platt, was pronounced dead.
The 42-year-old man was transported in serious condition.
Preliminary information indicates that there was an argument between two other men at Market Plaza before shots were fired and the two victims were struck, police said.
The incident, which remains under investigation, surprised many longtime parkgoers.
"I haven't seen anything like that happen up here in this park," Lewis Smith said.
"I was surprised because we never had shootings at this park," Rosemary Geisbehler said.
Tom McNair, executive director of the community development corporation Ohio City Incorporated, insisted Thursday that despite the violence that occurred, the neighborhood is a safe one.
"I think that one of the reasons that this has become so notable and has attracted a lot of attention is because it is so rare," McNair said.
McNair said as the neighborhood has become a magnet for redevelopment, crime has fallen in the last decade.
He believes despite what happened, redevelopment will continue, pointing to more than $1 billion in investment underway.
Projects that McNair believes will add to the vibrancy of the neighborhood and make it even safer.
"In an area with more people, more foot traffic and more activity, more eyes on the street, people look at it and it becomes infinitely more safe," McNair said.
McNair said Ohio City recently added security patrols to the neighborhood and will look at focusing more of those patrols on the area after the shooting.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call police at 216-623-5464. Anonymous information can be provided by calling Crimestoppers at 216-25-CRIME and a reward may be available, police said.
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
