CINCINNATI (WXIX) – West End Fest returned to Laurel Park this weekend, drawing more than 400 people to a neighborhood that has seen two 11-year-old children shot and killed in the past three years. Both cases remain unsolved.
The annual block party featured free concerts, health resources, sports equipment and youth programming. Organizers said the event was designed to rebuild a sense of safety and belonging in a community still processing loss.
‘A way we can come back’
One attendee, identified as Dante, said the event reflected a push to restore the community accountability he remembered growing up in the neighborhood.
“I remember growing up here and if I did something a block away everybody knew about it, everybody in my family, and you know what happened after that,” Dante said. “So we trying to get that community awareness and togetherness back.”…