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CINCINNATI – Business owners near the site of a viral weekend beatdown in downtown Cincinnati scorned the suspects in the “extremely out-of-control” assault that has captured nationwide attention.
The early Saturday morning melee on the corner of Fourth Street and Elm Street, which caused a national outcry after being circulated on social media, took place outside a popular nightclub called LoVe and the late-night restaurant next door.
In the video, a mob viciously assaulted two people, including a woman who was knocked out cold while bystanders filmed instead of intervening.
Kris Koch owns Koch Sporting Goods on Fourth Street, across the street from the club. His family business has been there since 1888.
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He described the brutal assault as a “hate crime” and said the city’s downtown is no stranger to mobs of people taking to the streets at night.
“That bar tends to get very crowded, and the crowd spills out into the street,” he told Fox News Digital. “Sometimes you can’t even drive your car down the street because there’s so many people out there partying. It’s not just [Saturday] night. It happens every weekend, and nobody records anything, really.”
Koch explained that LoVe is relatively new to the downtown business district and said that despite their best efforts, the police can’t control the crowds.
“It’s a nuisance,” Koch said bluntly.
LoVe did not return a comment request.
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Koch told Fox News Digital that residents are ready to fight back but recognized that not everyone downtown on the weekends is looking to cause trouble.
“Most of the time, the people that are partying are not villains, or they’re not part of the violence that just got extremely out of control,” he said.
Despite the weekend crowds, Koch defended the city, calling it “generally safe.”
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“You can bring your family down and walk all around downtown and know that nothing’s going to happen to you.”
Justin Karp owns Main Auction Galleries, next door to Koch’s store. His family has owned that business for 150 years, 80 of which have been spent at the location on Fourth Street.
He denounced the assault, saying violence is never the answer.
“I don’t know how it started, but I do know that there was a big fight,” he said. “A couple of people were severely outnumbered, and people would rather, I guess, film than help. Is that really the best solution?”
Disappointed, he described the fight as a “poor reflection” on the city.
“When you think of Jazz Fest now, that’s what they’re going to think about, not the 70,000 people coming here for music and entertainment and food and why they were here,” he said, referring to the city’s jazz festival that was ongoing during the assault.
The Downtown Residents Council is holding a special meeting on public safety at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Cincinnati Public Library.
On Monday, Cincinnati Chief of Police Teresa Theetge said in a news conference that about 100 people witnessed the fight, and only one called 911.
“That is unacceptable to not call the police,” she said. “Traffic was horrendous. People saw this. They were fighting in front of traffic. Why didn’t people call us?”
Authorities have charged at least five suspects in the attack, though officials have not released the identities of the suspects or the charges they are facing.
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