CINCINNATI — Cincinnati is on track to record one of its lowest homicide totals in at least 20 years, and Over-the-Rhine — long one of the city’s most violent neighborhoods — has reported zero homicides so far in 2026.
As of Sept. 22, the city had recorded 40 homicides this year, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. Since 2006, only 2012 had fewer killings by this date, with 36.
Interim Police Chief Adam Hennie said the three-year average for homicides is down nearly 24 percent, a span he noted covers many officers’ entire careers. Shootings, both fatal and nonfatal, remain near the historic low set in 2025, when shootings fell 19 percent and stood 41 percent below the recent peak in 2020.
The 40 homicides occurred across 20 neighborhoods, with Millvale and Northside each recording four — the most of any neighborhood. Notably absent is Over-the-Rhine, which had nine killings last year, the most in the city.
Over-the-Rhine’s turnaround is striking given its history. In 2008, as the streetcar was being built through the neighborhood, then-Prosecutor Joe Deters compared the project to “Jurassic Park” because of the surrounding violence.
Police still report at least 14 nonfatal shootings in Over-the-Rhine this year, keeping it among the neighborhoods with the most gun violence. But the zero-homicide mark represents a milestone residents and officials have chased for decades.
