Cincinnati police chief expresses concern after teenager dies after high school graduation

A family has many questions after an 18-year-old was shot and killed just hours after graduating. They want to know why the gathering wasn’t broken up sooner after police were called to the area hours before the violence. Cincinnati police said 30 to 40 high school students were hanging out behind Withrow High School around 3:30 a.m. Saturday morning when at least one person opened fire. Eighteen-year-old Lamon Wiggins was shot and killed. “Whoever did this, there’s no way to take care of him at all,” said Wiggins’ aunt, Mariah Lanier. About four hours before the shooting, dispatchers on the radio alerted officers of teenagers hanging out behind the high-rise school. “There are reports of 30 subjects playing loud music in the parking lot. Possibly a party,” the dispatcher said. Officers then explained to the dispatcher what was going on. “The students were given approval by a principal to be here for a week. A little longer to celebrate graduation,” the officer said. Wiggins’ family wants to know why the party was not broken up at that moment. “The park closes at 10, 9 o’clock. Who knows what, why didn’t you shut it down?” Lanier said. On Tuesday, Cincinnati Police Chief Terri Theetge addressed that question mark in a still-unsolved case. “I understand there was a call out for this earlier in the evening, and when officers arrived, they spoke to a couple of individuals. We know who those individuals are, and at that moment, it was a party. It was a juvenile.” “There were no reports of violence. There was no need to break them up and send them home at that time,” Theetge said. There have been no arrests in the case so far.