On February 20, 2023, at approximately 11:45 p.m., Cincinnati police responded to reports of a shooting in the 2900 block of Reading Road in the Avondale neighborhood. Upon arrival, officers discovered 28-year-old Terrance Bartlett suffering from a gunshot wound. He was immediately transported to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries the following day.
The Cincinnati Police Department's Homicide Unit launched an investigation into Bartlett's death. On March 21, 2023, authorities arrested 41-year-old Thomas Kirkland in Las Vegas, Nevada, in connection with the fatal shooting. The arrest was a collaborative effort involving the Las Vegas Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service, and Cincinnati's Fugitive Apprehension Squad. Kirkland was taken into custody and held at the Clark County Detention Center, awaiting extradition to Ohio to face charges related to Bartlett's death.
The motive behind the shooting remains unclear, and police have not disclosed any details regarding the circumstances leading up to the incident. The investigation is ongoing, and authorities have urged anyone with information to contact the Cincinnati Police Department's Homicide Unit.
Bartlett's death is a tragic addition to his family's history of loss due to gun violence. His younger sister, 17-year-old Aurora McCarter, was fatally shot in 2020 in Cincinnati's Price Hill neighborhood. McCarter was a police cadet and a junior at Purcell Marian High School at the time of her death. The family continues to mourn the loss of both siblings, who died in separate shooting incidents just over two years apart.
