Cleveland police: Suspect in car break-in, identified as juvenile, treated and released from hospital after being shot by officer

In Cleveland, a young suspect believed to be involved in a series of car burglaries was shot by a police officer. The incident took place early on a Saturday morning and the suspect sustained injuries that were not life-threatening. 

The Cleveland Division of Police said in a press release that the suspect was shot after driving toward officers in an allegedly stolen car near East 146th Street just after 4 a.m. Police did not release any details about the person who was shot. He was treated for his injuries and released from a Cleveland children’s hospital, police said.

The shooting came hours after Cleveland police officers began investigating over 30 “fresh car break-ins” in Cleveland’s midtown neighborhood.

While investigating the break-ins, officers identified “at least two” suspects who they described as “juveniles” who had previously been arrested for multiple car break-ins. The suspects had cut off ankle monitors they were supposed to be wearing, according to police. Police said video evidence showed at least one of the youths was armed with a handgun.

Just after 2 a.m. Saturday, detectives checked a vacant home in the 800 block of East 146th Street and found the suspect vehicle parked in the driveway with three people inside.

“Detectives attempted to make contact with the occupants of the vehicle, as they were exiting the vehicle, seeing the officers, the occupants returned to the vehicle and fled through an adjacent yard,” police said in the press release.

The suspects allegedly drove off in a White Kia Sportage that police say was recently reported as stolen and evaded officers going west on St. Clair Avenue. 

The Kia returned to the driveway on East 146th Street at around 3:21 a.m. Detectives, who had continued patrolling the area, “set up a perimeter and requested assistance from a marked zone car to attempt to make contact with the occupant(s) of the vehicle,” police said.

Police approached the Kia just after 4 a.m. and found the suspect “sleeping or unconscious in the driver’s seat.” After an officer began to give commands to the suspect, police say the driver woke up and put the car in drive, hitting the police car. 

According to police, the suspect tried to push the police car, reversed into a garage, and then put the car back in drive before driving toward officers. That’s when a Cleveland police officer fired at the suspect, hitting him once in the right shoulder.

Police removed the youth from the car and rendered first aid before EMS personnel transported him to the hospital. 

The police department said a firearm was recovered from inside the Kia. 

The officer who shot the suspect will be placed on administrative leave, per department policy, as the shooting is investigated by the Cleveland Division of Police Use of Force Investigation Team.