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Two suspects charged in deadly Ohio nightclub shooting

[March 31, 2017] By Kim Palmer

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Ohio police have identified two suspects in a shooting at a Cincinnati night club over the weekend in which one person was killed and 16 injured, authorities said on Thursday.

One of the suspects, Cornell Beckley, 27, was arrested on Thursday and charged with murder, Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac said at a press conference.

A second suspect, 29-year-old Deondre Davis, who is in critical condition at University of Cincinnati Medical Center after being shot in the early Sunday incident, has also been charged with murder, said Isaac.

Isaac said he expects more arrests. Officials previously said a lack of security video footage at Cameo Nightlife, despite its history of violence, hampered the probe.

Officials have said a fight that spun out of control led to the shooting and that there was no evidence of a "terrorist attack" such as last year's Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Florida, that killed 49 people in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

Isaac said there could be a third shooter from the Ohio nightclub, citing a belief by police that three guns were brought into the nightclub. Investigators have found at least 16 shell casings at the scene, he added.

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Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley called the incident the worst mass shooting in the city’s history and hailed the arrests.

Four police officers were providing security in the club’s parking lot when the shots were fired.

Cameo Nightlife's Facebook page says it features "College Friday's" for students 18 and older and "Saturday's 21+ grown and sexy night."

Cincinnati City Manager Harry Black previously said the club had surrendered its liquor licence and would be closed until the investigation is complete. The club, a large single-story structure, is a 7-mile (11 km) drive from downtown Cincinnati.

(Reporting by Kim Palmer, Editing by Ben Klayman and Grant McCool)

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