PAINESVILLE TOWNSHIP, Ohio — The individual who was arrested Thursday morning in connection with a shot fired in a Paineville Township elementary school parking lot was an off-duty Cleveland police officer, according to Cleveland Police Public Information Office Sergeant Freddy Diaz.
The officer has now been identified as Alexander Sinclair. He was taken to Lake County Jail on charges relating to the incident and awaits arraignment. Sinclair works out of the Fifth District and is the former Public Information Officer for Cleveland Police, one of the most prominent roles in the department.
The Lake County Sheriff's Office said Riverview Elementary School was placed under lockdown this morning because a shot was fired near the exit of the parking lot.
Deputies responded to the school around 9:10 a.m.
Chief Deputy Robert Izzo said the incident involved two individuals and no students.
In a statement, Izzo said the deputy assigned as the school resource officer at Riverview was made aware of the incident, approached two vehicles that appeared to be involved and heard a single gunshot.
The deputy saw Sinclair outside of a vehicle with a firearm and ordered him to drop it, Izzo said.
Sinclair dropped the weapon and the deputy was able to detain him after a struggle, according to Izzo.
Izzo said a person was transported to the hospital with what are believed to be minor injuries.
Potential cause
According to Izzo, it appears to be a domestic situation.
Prior investigations indicate the situation started as a domestic dispute and ended up on school grounds, where the car being driven by Sinclair collided with the other vehicle, Izzo said.
Izzo said the shot fired went through the windshield of the second car but did not strike anyone.
The lockdown
All students and staff were safe, said the sheriff's office during the lockdown.
The shot was fired away from the school building.
The Auburn Career Center was also locked down this morning.
The elementary school was under lockdown while law enforcement responded. The school remained open after the scene was secured, but parents were invited to pick up their children early.
Who is the officer?
Sinclair, 34, was once considered a rising star within the Cleveland Division of Police. Now, he’s facing criminal charges, including felonious assault and kidnapping.
Before working in the Fifth District, he was briefly the department’s public information officer, where he worked with the media to provide information to the public and schedule interviews with police officials.
City records show he was hired in April 2015.
Cleveland’s current police spokesperson said Sinclair will be placed on leave pending the outcome of the shooting investigation and criminal charges.
Community response
DeShane Ward’s daughter, Riley, is a 5th grader at the school.
Ward said he rushed to check on her after learning about the incident.
“I told my boss ‘I’m leaving. I’m going to go get by baby,” Ward said. “And I got here, and these sheriffs told me I wasn’t even allowed to get past here. I went and cut through the woods over there and came around the back of the school - like you ain’t stopping me from getting to my baby.”
He said he was relieved to get her back into his arms.
"I can’t wait to get home. Mom is supposed to meet us at the house and we’re good to go," Ward said.
Riley said she had just finished breakfast at school and was going to the restroom when the lockdown went into effect.
She was happy to be reconnected with her dad.
“I feel really happy because I was really scared,” Riley said.
Daniel Novy is the pastor at Grand River Baptist Church, which is within view of the elementary school.
“I have five kids. You hear school shooting, things getting locked down, and you get super concerned,” Novy said. “Our church is in the community… try to be salt and light and be a blessing and help families.”
He said his church has been canvassing neighborhoods for years, sensing much disconnect in homes these days.
“We have this epidemic of fatherless homes, and we see the repercussions of it, just throughout society. We live in some dark times,” Novy said. “Really the thing that we want encourage people with is hope. Hope, purpose, (and) love.”
He said he wants the community to know that the church is there for them on good days and bad.
“We want to be the church that people think of when they’re going through it," he said. "When the unexpected happens. ‘Hey, I remember those people they came and they talked to me.’”
First responder honored
The Riverview school resource officer will receive a national heroism award from the One In Five Foundation For Kids.
The One in Five Foundation was created in response to a deadly shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022.
