12 Shot Near Toledo's Old West End Festival as Police Hunt Two Gunmen Still at Large

Twelve people were shot Saturday evening near the Old West End Festival in Toledo, Ohio, sending a crowd of families and music fans scrambling for cover and launching a manhunt for at least two gunmen who remained at large into the night.

The gunfire broke out just after 5:30 p.m. near Delaware Avenue and Glenwood Avenue, on the edge of the two-day neighborhood festival known for its live music, food vendors and historic Victorian homes. Officers responded to the scene at about 5:37 p.m. to reports of multiple people shot, Toledo police said. The victims ranged in age from 14 to 61, with most in their 20s, and two were listed in critical condition.

"As far as violence, this is over the top," Lucas County Sheriff Mike Navarre said at a Saturday night news conference. Toledo Police Deputy Chief Joseph Heffernan told reporters there appeared to have been two shooters who were "probably shooting at each other," adding that neither had been taken into custody. No arrests had been made as of late Saturday, and officers were canvassing the area for suspects.

Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz told CNN affiliate WTOL that all of the people shot are expected to survive — a rare piece of good news in a chaotic scene. Police Chief Mike Troendle said investigators were interviewing victims and witnesses and reviewing camera footage from the area, and appealed to the community for help. "There's kids out there that probably know more than all of us standing here," he said, urging anyone with information or video to come forward.

The Old West End Festival is one of Toledo's signature summer events, drawing thousands to a leafy district of late-19th-century mansions for an annual celebration of the neighborhood. Saturday's shooting turned the festival's closing hours into a panic, with attendees describing a stampede as shots rang out near the festival's edge. Organizers and police moved to clear the grounds as ambulances ferried the wounded to area hospitals.

The shooting adds Toledo to a grim list of American festivals, parades and public gatherings struck by gunfire in recent years. City officials said they would increase police presence around the remainder of the weekend's events and pleaded for calm as the investigation continued. Anyone with information was asked to contact Toledo police or Crime Stoppers, and authorities said they were optimistic that surveillance video and witness accounts would help identify the shooters. "If we get help from the community, it'll be hopefully sooner than later," Navarre said of the search.