Cincinnati mayor missing during viral assault crisis as GOP senator slams absence, sets deadline for action
CINCINNATI – Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval has been missing in action for days after a brutal beatdown that went viral on social media left many people injured, raising questions about the city's leadership and priorities.
Pureval has been on a long-planned family vacation in Vancouver, Canada, The Enquirer reported.
A video lit up social media over the weekend that showed a mob of people violently attacking one man, as well as a woman who tried to help him, during the early morning hours on Saturday.
Pureval, a Democrat, reportedly told the news outlet he found out about the incident the same day, though he decided to still take his family on a family vacation.
His reasoning for the vacation was that his 5-year-old son would be starting kindergarten and city council sessions resume next week after a monthlong recess, and it would be the last opportunity to go on a family vacation.
"This was a long-planned family trip and celebration for my son," the mayor told The Enquirer. "I take my role as mayor very seriously, but I also take my role as a husband and father seriously as well."
The day before the vicious assault took place, Pureval had returned from Cleveland where he spoke at the Democratic Mayors Association Summit.
Pureval did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
Still, The Enquirer reported that he plans to fly back to Cincinnati on Thursday, cutting his vacation short by four days, and will provide a statement on Friday regarding the city's plan to fight crime while addressing public concerns.
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, was a guest on "Fox and Friends" on Thursday morning when he lambasted the mayor and other city leaders for their handling of the assault, calling it a "heinous situation."
"Cincinnati is an amazing city, made by great people over decades, centuries actually. It's one of the shiny jewels of Ohio, and these idiotic political leaders that the citizens allow to have office need to go," Moreno said.
He announced plans to have federal agencies review the funding Cincinnati receives from the federal government.
Moreno also said he is giving Cincinnati leaders a month to produce a plan to protect the civil rights of their citizens.
"If they don't do it…I'm going to ask these agencies to suspend all federal funding because we're not going to put up with this," Moreno said. "They're down 200 police officers. The police chief blames social media. The city council person blamed the victim. The mayor went to a misfit mayor's conference and then took a vacation to Canada and hasn't been back in town since then.
"This is a total travesty," he continued. "I'm not going to put up with it. Ohio deserves better. Cincinnati certainly does, too."
The videos that surfaced online show one woman being knocked out, and when she fell to the ground, blood was seen pouring out of her mouth.
Moreno said the woman's name is Holly, and he said when he saw the video, he thought she had been killed.
The senator posted images of Holly on social media on Wednesday. The graphic images show a woman with a black eye, swollen face and busted lip.
"Holly gave me permission to release the photos so that others will never suffer what she did," he wrote.
"I posted pictures with her permission yesterday, of what happened to her," Moreno said on "Fox and Friends." "This is a middle-aged woman that was going out for a nice time with some friends. This is how she ended up. I mean, these pictures are so graphic, so horrible, that I wanted people to see this is what political leaders in Cincinnati are allowing."
One of those city leaders is City Councilwoman Victoria Parks, who came under fire for a post on Facebook in the wake of the beatdown.
Under a post from a Facebook user called Leohna Alia La JCannon that showed the vicious assault, an account that appears to belong to Parks commented, "They begged for that beat down!"
"I am grateful for the whole story," the comment continues.
The comment links back to a Facebook account for Victoria Parks, who lists her job title as City Council Member at City of Cincinnati Government. The account also says she was formerly the commissioner for Hamilton County, Ohio Government and the former Chief of Staff to Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune.
Parks did not respond to multiple requests from Fox News Digital for comment on the post.
Another city official taking criticism for her handling of the incident is Cincinnati Chief of Police Teresa Theetge, who has blamed social media and mainstream media for not showing the entire story.
Her department has also been fairly silent on its investigation into the beatdown that occurred.
Despite Theetge announcing that five people had been charged for their involvement in the attack, it was not until Tuesday that three individuals were arrested.
One of those individuals, Montianez Merriweather, had recently been released from police custody after posting $400 cash bail for serious crimes.
On Wednesday, a local judge set Merriweather's bond at $500,000, as he faces crimes of felonious assault, aggravated riot and assault.
Dekyra Vernon was charged with the same crimes, and Jermaine Matthews was charged with aggravated riot and assault.
Cincinnati Police Lieutenant Jonathan Cunningham confirmed to Fox News Digital on Wednesday night that two additional arrests are expected. He added that as the case moves forward, more arrests "are likely to come."
However, because this is an active investigation, Cunningham would not release any additional information.
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