BY WILLIAM A. WEATHERS
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A Northside man was stabbed to death and several others were injured during a street fight Thursday near Witler and Hanfield streets in Northside.
The victim was identified as Antonio Schaffer, 20, who witnesses said lived nearby.
As police arrived, about 35 gathered at the fight scene, some throwing rocks and bottles in what officers described as "a large chaotic situation."
Although the initial confrontation involved a small group of young black males and young white males, police and bystanders said there was no indication the incident was racially motivated.
"We have a subject injured as a result of some kind of confrontation," Police Capt. Michael Cureton said of Mr. Schaffer, who later died. "We have a black victim and a white suspect."
"This is exactly what the area didn't need," said John Messer, 36, of Miamisburg, Ohio, who was in the nearby C&D Cafe when the fight broke out. "I've been coming here for five years, and I've never seen any problems. Everything was cool until now."
Capt. Cureton said more than a dozen uniformed police officers responded to the disturbance call in the 4100 block of Witler.
At least two other people were injured in the confrontation, he said.
Early Thursday evening, police investigators were still trying to determine exactly what happened, Capt. Cureton said.
Patrons of the C&D Cafe said the white males involved in the fight had been asked to leave the bar a few minutes before the fight because they were being unruly.
"All of a sudden, I heard screaming and hollering," said a bar patron.
Another bar patron said once he got outside, he saw the stabbing victim standing near a traffic sign.
"He kind of grabbed the post and spun around, then he dropped," (to the ground), the man said.
Witnesses said Mr. Schaffer, who was stabbed in the chest, lost consciousness before rescue personnel took him to the hospital. About seven or eight people were involved in the initial confrontation, witnesses said.
"Everybody's going to think there's a problem (in the neighborhood)," said Brian Simmons, 30, of Northside, who called 911 to report the stabbing. "Everybody gets along here for the most part."
Capt. Cureton said officers told him there had been "no problems in the area for the last two years."
