CLEVELAND — A second suspect has been arrested in connection with the Cleveland Warehouse District shooting that occurred on July 9, police confirmed Sunday morning.
Kevin Raul Del Valle-Salaman, 24, was identified by Cleveland Police investigators Saturday, and an arrest warrant for complicity charges was issued. He was taken into custody the same day and is now booked at the Cuyahoga County Jail, according to police.
According to the arrest warrant filed Saturday, Del Valle-Salaman, the driver of a black Kia Sportage, transported the first suspect, Jaylon Jennings and a third unknown male to a parking lot near Rumor Bar and Lounge. The three men exited the vehicle and entered the bar before returning to the Sportage, where Jennings retrieved a firearm.
"Mr. Del Valle-Salaman and the unknown male did remain in the lot awaiting the return of Mr. Jennings after he shot nine victims. The males then fled the scene and did not report the offense to the police, while having knowledge of its occurrence and transported Mr. Jennings away from the shooting location," the warrant said.
On Tuesday, July 11, Jennings, the first suspect in the mass shooting, was taken into custody, Cleveland Police confirmed at a news conference.
The suspect was identified and tracked by the U.S. Marshals to a location in the 2900 block of Toledo Avenue in Lorain, according to Brian Fitzgibbon with the U.S. Marshals Service, who spoke at the news conference. The man, identified as Jaylon Jennings, 25, was taken into custody without incident at about 3:45 p.m. Tuesday, Fitzgibbon said. Marshals and Cleveland Police are in the process of obtaining and executing a search warrant at a home for further materials in the crime. Cleveland Police said the gun used has not yet been recovered.
"We're very excited for the partnership and this arrest," Cleveland Police Chief Wayne Drummond said Tuesday. "It's a culmination, again, of the very hard work of the Marshal Service and our officers."
Watch the full news conference below:
Cleveland business and restaurant owner Bobby George, who had offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspect, indicated at the news conference that it was his offer that led to the tip that resulted in Jennings's arrest.
"I look at things from a businessman's perspective, and if you show someone the incentive, I'll show you the outcome," George said. "So I figured someone would be motivated by money, and they were."
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb said Tuesday that it took 61 hours from the shooting to arrest Jennings.
"We got this suspect in 61 hours, 61 hours, and it shows you what can happen when every level of law enforcement is working together," Bibb said. "When you have business owners like Bobby George supporting us with a high donation to get good tips to our law enforcement agencies. This is what community collaboration looks like to solve violent crime in our city. And I know, and I pray I pray that the victims from this mass shooting can feel safe tonight — their families feel a little bit of justice. And I pray that the residents of our city feel a bit safer this evening knowing that we apprehended this suspect."
Drummond said a motive has not yet been established. Jennings has not yet been charged but was arrested on nine counts of felonious assault.
According to the arrest warrant filed Tuesday, Jennings, “after observing several victims inside the Rumor Bar & Lounge, purposely attempted to cause the death of nine individuals by intentionally retrieving a firearm, described by a witness as a Glock Firearm with an extended magazine, from the trunk of his vehicle, located in a parking lot at 1299 W. 6th St.”
After he retrieved the gun, Jennings deliberately approached the individuals and fired shots in their direction, the warrant states. The nine victims were struck by gunfire, causing serious physical harm.
Bibb released the following statement on the second arrest:
Thanks to the dedicated and hard work of our detectives and law enforcement partners, we were able to quickly identify and apprehend this individual. While the case remains under investigation, everyone responsible for this horrific, senseless act of violence will be held accountable and brought to justice.
The shooting happened at about 2:30 a.m. July 9, and the nine victims were taken to the hospital.
According to a preliminary investigation at the scene, as the bars let out on W. 6th Street, an unknown person, later alleged to be Jennings, shot into a group of people standing outside before fleeing.
Drummond said in a press conference that officers were stationed in the Warehouse District at the time of the shooting.
"This particular individual started shooting towards the crowd, as we all know, at nine individuals," Drummond said. "The officers immediately ran to the gunfire, ran to the victims and rendered first aid. All the officers rendered first aid to the victims. As I stated, we had nine total victims, seven males and two females ranging from ages 23 to 38 years old."
The victims were taken to the MetroHealth Medical Center. There are no life-threatening injuries. Of the victims, seven are men ranging in age from their early 20s to late 30s, and two are women in their early 20s, according to officials.
Investigators are currently in the process of reviewing evidence and video and have interviewed the victims, police said.
On Monday, downtown restaurant owner Bobby George confirmed to News 5 that he offered a $50,000 reward for information that helps police catch the suspected gunman.
On Tuesday, MetroHealth confirmed that a group of individuals rushed into the hospital hours after the shooting, apparently trying to get to one of the shooting victims. They were stopped by MetroHealth Police officers and fled from the building.
News 5 investigator Scott Noll discovered that a man with the same name and birth date as Jennings was out on bond at the time of the shooting. The man had been arrested and was awaiting trial in Lorain County for drug trafficking and drug possession charges. In that case, Jennings was released on $5,000 bail.
Other records show a man matching Jennings's name and birth date was busted again in Lorain County in a separate drug case in March of this year. In that case, records show Jennings was released on his own recognizance.
In addition, Cleveland Municipal Court Records show a Jaylon Jennings with the same birth date failed to pay all his fines and court costs from a 2018 disorderly conduct conviction and had an outstanding warrant.
News 5 attempted to confirm that the Jennings from these court records was the same Jennings arrested for the mass shooting, but Drummond said he did not have that information.
Watch previous reporting below:
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