This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Police in Cincinnati have reported three people killed and a gunman dead in a shooting at a bank.

Police chief Eliot Isaac said the shooter opened fire early on Thursday morning at the loading dock of the Fifth Third Bank building. Isaac said the gunman then entered the bank’s lobby, where he exchanged gunfire with police. It was unclear if the gunman shot himself or was shot by officers.

One of the victims also died at the scene.

Cincinnati mayor John Cranley said the gunman was “shooting innocent victims” and that it was a “horrific” scene. He noted the building on the city’s Fountain Square houses popular ice cream, sandwich and pastry shops.

Cranley said it “could have been much, much worse” if not for the immediate police response to end the threat.

Police at first said they had responded to “an active shooter situation” at the Fifth Third Bank building and there were multiple injuries.

The department tweeted it as an “active shooter/officer involved shooting incident”. The situation appeared to be under control shortly before 10am local time on Thursday.

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Multiple people had been transported to an area hospital but there was no word on their conditions. It was not immediately clear if the shooter was one of them but the police later reported four dead in the incident, including the shooter.

At least two ambulances were seen leaving the scene.

People in and around the building reported hearing a series of gunshots.

A spokeswoman for Fifth Third Bank says the company would comment later.