BY EARNEST WINSTON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON -- A man was in critical condition at University Hospital after he was shot in the back Sunday night, apparently as he ran through the front door of a house in the 300 block of Western Avenue.
Scene of where a man was shot on Western Avenue.
(Craig Ruttle photo)
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He was shot with an assault rifle, police said.
A second shot was fired at witnesses who chased the gunman, but no one was hit.
The shooting victim is Rocky Michaels, 21, no address available. Police charged Byran A. Marsh, 21, of Elsmere, with first-degree assault in the shooting. Two other men were charged with related offenses, and the investigation is continuing, police said.
The shooting was the second shooting incident in Covington in two days. The first involved a man who shot at police Saturday night. No one was injured in that incident.
Misty Ray, 20, who was inside the home when the Sunday shooting occurred, said Mr. Michaels was shot in the left shoulder and the bullet went through his back.
"All I know is that one of my friends got shot," Ms. Ray said, adding that there were about four people in the house.
Police had six people in custody Sunday night, including the suspected shooter, said Sgt. Robert Ervin. Police recovered the assault rifle near the scene.
Police did not say where or how they captured the suspect.
Police said the incident began at the house, and several people from the house chased the suspect to the parking lot of Willie's Sports Cafe, across the street, where he fired a second shot.
The shooting occurred shortly before 7 p.m., police said. Crime scene tape was used to close off a section of Willie's parking lot, where several shells were found, and an area near the house.
"We have a subject shot. . . . We have a subject in the hospital," Sgt. Ervin said.
A neighbor, Doug Elliott, said he was lying down when he heard two gunshots. "I came running outside to see what was going on." Myrna Coovert, who lives with Mr. Elliott, said: "This is a bad area because of the bar over here, especially on the weekends. There's either a fight or something."
Capt. Steve Wills, head of the Crime Bureau, said both parties involved in the shooting "knew one another."
Neighbors said the occupants of the house where the shooting occurred have lived there for several months.
About a dozen police cruisers responded to the shooting, including several from Ludlow. Reporter William A. Weathers contributed to this story.
