Nazir Owens, 15, was found fatally shot in North Avondale after remaining in Ohio’s missing-child system for more than a year.
CINCINNATI, Ohio — Cincinnati police are investigating the shooting death of 15-year-old Nazir Owens, a teen who authorities said had been listed as a missing child since August 2024 when officers found him with a gunshot wound early Sunday in North Avondale.
The case has drawn attention not only because the victim was a teenager, but because his name was still active in Ohio’s missing-person system at the time of his death. Police have confirmed the boy killed on Glenwood Avenue was the same child reported missing in 2024. The result is a homicide investigation layered with a second unanswered question: where Owens had been, and who knew his whereabouts, in the months between his disappearance and his death.
Police said officers were called at 12:02 a.m. Sunday to the 800 block of Glenwood Avenue, near the Avondale and North Avondale line, after a report of a shooting. When they arrived, they found Owens with a gunshot wound. Emergency crews pronounced him dead at the scene. By Monday, police had publicly identified him as the victim and confirmed he was the same Nazir Owens who had been reported missing in August 2024. The Ohio Attorney General’s website still listed him Monday as a missing child from Cincinnati, saying he was last seen Aug. 1, 2024, when he was 13. The state listing said he had been wearing a blue jacket and black leggings when he disappeared.
Authorities have released few details about what led to the gunfire. Police have not publicly described a motive, said whether Owens knew the shooter, or announced an arrest. They also have not explained where Owens had been staying in the time since he was reported missing. A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office said Monday that the entry for Owens was still active in the National Crime Information Center system as of that morning. At the same time, a Cincinnati Public Schools spokesperson said Owens was enrolled at Taft High School. The school district did not release attendance records, citing federal student privacy law. That left a central gap in the public record: whether family members, school officials, social agencies or investigators had any confirmed contact with him before the weekend killing.
The location of the shooting has added to neighborhood concern. Glenwood Avenue runs through a residential section near apartment buildings, homes and wooded areas. In local television interviews, residents described hearing multiple gunshots early Sunday. One report said officers initially checked the woods behind the apartments after concern that a suspect might be hiding there, but no immediate arrest followed. Community leaders who spoke after the killing said the death reflects a broader pattern of youth gun violence in Cincinnati. The case landed after another violent stretch in the city and as federal, state and local officials have been emphasizing closer coordination in serious gun cases. Even so, the Owens investigation remains at the basic fact-finding stage, with detectives still working to piece together the events of the shooting and the long gap since his disappearance.
That combination of a missing-child record and a homicide investigation could shape the next steps. Detectives would typically review prior missing-person reports, interview relatives and associates, examine phone and social media records, and retrace where Owens had been in the days before he was killed. Police have not said whether any surveillance video was recovered from the area or whether forensic evidence has identified a suspect. They also have not announced any juvenile court or adult criminal filings tied to the case. U.S. Attorney Dominick Gerace said in local remarks that federal, state and local officers are working together on violent crime cases and that ATF task force ties allow direct communication with Cincinnati homicide detectives. For now, though, Owens’ death remains an open city homicide case, with no charges announced as of Monday evening.
The human details have made the case especially hard to absorb. Owens was 15, and school officials confirmed he was still on the rolls at Taft High School. That fact, standing beside the still-active missing-child entry, has left neighbors and community workers asking how a teenager could remain publicly listed as missing and still die in a shooting with so many parts of his recent life unexplained. Residents near Glenwood Avenue said the burst of gunfire startled the building and sent fear through the area. Community voices speaking after the shooting said the death deepened worries about how often teenagers are being pulled into violent situations before adults around them can intervene. The grief has been sharpened by the lack of answers about where Owens had been and who last saw him alive.
The investigation was still open Monday, with police seeking information about the shooting and the timeline leading up to it. The next public milestone is likely the release of any new police findings or the filing of charges if detectives identify a suspect.
Author note: Last updated March 24, 2026.