BY TANYA BRICKING
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Tearful children consoled one another in an Avondale parking lot Friday afternoon after one of their own was shot.
They were just out of school and preparing for the weekend when everything changed at 4 p.m. with a fight and a gun.
Charles Black was standing near the bus stop at Reading Road and Forest Avenue when a car pulled up with faces he recognized. Police say he approached the car, argued with those inside, and stumbled to the ground after one of them shot him in the chest. The car sped away, south on Reading Road, and police are still looking for three or four teen-age suspects.
Charles, 16, a student at Porter Middle School in the West End, was rushed to University Hospital where he underwent surgery and was in serious condition.
The shooting may have been retaliation for a fight the teens had several days ago, Cincinnati police Lt. Steve Luebbe said. There was no indication it was gang-related, he said.
At his sidewalk booth half a block away, James Brain, 36, heard the gunshot. He stopped selling sunglasses and videos to watch. A boy's blue jacket was in the street, and police surrounded it with yellow crime scene tape.
Across the street, about 50 children gathered in the parking lot of Walgreens and Family Dollar to watch.
Nevin Lounds, 17, rode his bike over. He knew Charles from playing basketball at the neighborhood center. He also was friends with Terrance Cash, a 24-year-old who was shot to death Jan. 6 just a few blocks away.
"I just be wondering who's next?" Nevin said. "Too many people are getting shot."
