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According to the university, the suspect made his way into a dorm hall after they and three others crashed a car in the area.
CLEVELAND — A shelter-in-place order has been lifted at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland after police say an armed suspect was arrested inside a residential dorm building Friday night.
The school first issued the alert just before 8:30 p.m., with witnesses reporting seeing an “armed individual” inside Michelson House on Carlton Road. According to the school, this person and three other individuals (all under the age of 18) were involved in a car crash on Cedar Road shortly before 8 p.m. and fled the scene on foot westbound.
The school said Saturday afternoon that Cleveland Heights police reported the juveniles were each armed with firearms and “possibly a hammer.”
Authorities say two of the juveniles ran the opposite way and “are no longer a risk to the campus community.” Cleveland Heights police arrested the third in their city, but the fourth made his way into Michelson by following a Case student who had swiped into the dorm. This led to the entire campus being placed under the shelter-in-place order and all buildings south of Euclid Avenue being put on lockdown.
Just before 8:30 p.m., CWRU police stated they had taken the “intruder” into custody before beginning a search of residence halls across the south end of campus. The university later said the suspect was found in a janitor’s closet and was unarmed at the time of his arrest.
The shelter-in-place order was lifted for the north side around 9:30 p.m. after CWRU police searched the school’s south side dorms and used drone and security camera footage to determine the “safety and security of the campus.” The rest of the university was issued an all clear just before 10 p.m.
The university said two suspects remain at large but CWRU and law enforcement determined they were not in the area.
“CWRU, Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights police have collaborated throughout the process to ensure the safety of the community,” the university wrote in a statement on social media. “CWRU police will be on heightened patrol throughout the weekend.”
No injuries have been reported, and the university says Safe Ride services have resumed to normal operations, but that students “should expect longer than normal wait times.” Further information regarding the initial crash or possible charges against those involved was not immediately available.
