[Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correctly identify Lateek Shabazz as the East Cleveland mayor.]
EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio (WJW) Authorities have arrested a male suspect in connection with the shootings of two East Cleveland police officers, the FOX 8 I-Team has learned.
An overnight manhunt ensued after two officers were shot and wounded late Thursday night in separate but connected incidents, according to city officials.
The officers had responded to a shooting that ultimately killed two civilians. It began as a domestic incident involving the alleged gunman’s relatives, Mayor Lateek Shabazz said Friday.
The domestic disturbance was reported at about 11 p.m. Thursday along North Taylor Road.
One officer was shot in the leg at the scene, East Cleveland Mayor Lateek Shabazz confirmed. As police surrounded the home and awaited a SWAT team, more gunfire was heard nearby.
A second officer was shot minutes later at the Town House Motel on Euclid Avenue, about a mile from the initial scene. That officer suffered a gunshot wound to the buttocks, officials said.
The gunman fired on the second officer while concealed behind some brush, said Mansell Baker, the city’s safety director.
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Both officers were rushed to University Hospitals and were reported to be in stable condition as of early Friday morning.
One of the two officers shot was in “good spirits” on Friday, though shaken up, Shabazz told reporters later Friday morning.
Officer Joshua Durda, who was shot in the leg, has been with East Cleveland police for four years, said Police Chief Reginald Holcomb. Officer Brandon Hernandez, shot in the buttocks, joined one year ago. Holcomb called both “exemplary officers.”
“This is a stark reminder of the risks our officers face every day,” he said. “I commend their courage and strength and assure the public we are doing everything possible to protect the public.”
City officials believe the same suspect is responsible for both shootings. Authorities have not yet released the identity of the alleged gunman, and the motive remains unclear.
Dozens of officers were at the scene, and Euclid Avenue near the motel was heavily secured as the manhunt continued. Police surrounded the motel, and the area was combed for the suspect, who was considered armed and dangerous.
An Ohio State Highway Patrol aerial unit scanned the area with an infrared camera. Forty members of a U.S. Marshals task force joined the search, U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott told the I-Team.
Residents in the area were urged to remain indoors and report any suspicious activity to law enforcement.
Officers caught up with the suspect near Shaw High School, near the intersection of Shaw and Euclid avenues, behind a home with no other connection to the incident, Elliott said.
“They had him boxed in. He couldn’t get out,” Shabazz said.
Elliott said the man charged at a member of a Marshals task force, who then deployed a stun weapon to subdue him. The suspect had removed his clothes and was wrapped in garbage bags, Elliott said.
“Whenever a police officer is shot, we will continue to stand united in law enforcement and pursue and capture those responsible, no matter where they run or hide,” Elliott said.
The identities of the two people killed have not been released, pending identification by the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Anyone with information on the incident is urged to call East Cleveland police. The number is 216-451-1234.
