CLEVELAND — A 25-year-old man wanted on a murder warrant was shot and killed by police in Cleveland's Corlett neighborhood on Thursday morning.
A spokesperson for Cleveland EMS confirmed crews responded to the 4200 block of East 134th Street. A man, later identified as Innes Lee Jr., was found dead at the scene, an EMS spokesperson said.
Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams said that between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 a.m., officers went to a home looking for a man wanted on two felony warrants, one of those being a murder warrant for a homicide in the neighborhood.
According to police, Lee was wanted for a murder that happened at a gas station on Sept. 1 that resulted in a 48-year-old woman dead and a 26-year-old woman injured.
Lee Jr. ran out of the back door of the home.
Officers chased him and say he pulled out a gun. It was at that time an officer, who is a 10-year veteran of the force, fired his weapon and killed Lee Jr., Williams said.
"This comes back to our officers responding to (a) call from our citizens about a person who has victimized this community time and time again. Tragically, it ended in gunfire," Williams told a group of reporters.
Jeff Follmer, the president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association Union, said the man who was shot was the person police were looking for in connection to the warrants.
All officers involved were wearing body cameras that were activated, Williams said.
"I don’t know if the suspect actually fired. The suspect did produce a weapon, and that weapon was recovered right on the ground by the suspect," said Williams, when asked if Lee Jr. fired at the officer.
Karrie Howard, the director of safety for the City of Cleveland, called today's shooting a "potential outcome" to responding to gun violence and protecting residents in the city.
"It’s terrible we are here again. The city has been crying out for an answer to gun violence. Gun violence terrorizing the citizens that live in this city is unacceptable," Howard said.
Williams said the officers involved in the shooting are doing okay.
"Of course with things going on around the country, the officers are definitely, ya know, kinda going through some things and wondering what’s going to happen, but I want to tell the Cleveland community, look at our incidents as the incident that happened in the city and the facts that surround those incidents themselves, and don’t conflate the things that are happening around the country with what happens here. I can say our officers did what they were supposed to do. They protected themselves and more importantly came out here to protect our community on a call from a citizen saying we are being terrorized by this person, can you please come and find this person," Williams said.
The Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office said it will conduct the investigation in partnership with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
This is a breaking news story. News 5 will update it as more information is released by officials.
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