Cincinnati Police Identify Stabbing Suspect Who Was Shot and Killed by Officers

The Cincinnati Police Department identified the stabbing suspect who was fatally shot by officers near Music Hall on June 27 as 48-year-old Juan Mack at a press conference on Friday.

Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge said the shooting happened on Thursday evening after police pursued Mack, who is suspected of stabbing a woman multiple times in a “domestic-related” incident. The woman underwent surgery at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, but remains in critical condition, Theetge said.

After arriving on the scene of the stabbing incident on Parkcrest Lane, police began pursuing Mack. According to Theetge, Mack pointed his gun at police multiple times as they pursued him.

Mack then got out of the vehicle he was driving, a blue Toyota Camry, in an intersection near 12th and Elm Street and fled on foot with his gun. The officers pursued and told Mack multiple times to put his gun down, according to surveillance footage. They fired several foam rounds, but Theetge said they did not take effect.

The city tweeted that an "emergency" was occurring near Music Hall at 7:21 p.m. on Thursday and informed the public that police had closed a portion of Elm Street.

After Mack ignored officers and approached Music Hall, four officers fired their weapons and killed him, Theetge said. The officers have not been identified.

“My condolences to the family. They did lose a loved one,” Theetge said.

Ken Kober, president of the Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police, said in a Facebook statement on Thursday night that Mack was armed with a “semiautomatic handgun.”

“Those officers followed their training and protected their lives, shooting the suspect,” Kober said in the statement. “Thankfully, no innocent people or officers were injured.”

Theetge reiterated that the officers’ job is to stop the threat, and she praised the officers’ “heroic efforts.”

The stabbing victim has not yet been identified.