RAVENNA, Ohio — The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) is combing through an early Sunday morning shooting involving Ravenna police that killed a man.
The Ravenna Police Department provided a press release regarding the shooting on Sunday.
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The release explained that Ravenna officers initially responded to a report of a man with a gun sleeping on the floor of an apartment at a Hazen Avenue complex around 1:30 a.m. The individual who made the report was inside the same apartment at the time.
Upon arrival, officers knocked on the door, which was opened, revealing a male suspect lying on the floor with a firearm in his waistband, according to Ravenna police.
"Officers immediately retreated and issued verbal commands to drop the weapon. The door then closed between the officers and the suspect, but officers continued to give commands from outside," the press release stated.
Moments later, the suspect reportedly exited the apartment while using another male as a "human shield."
The hostage managed to break free, according to Ravenna police, and the suspect pointed his firearm at officers.
Two officers discharged their weapons, fatally wounding the suspect, said Ravenna Police.
"Officers immediately attempted life-saving measures, but the male succumbed to the injuries at the scene. No officers were injured during the incident," the press release explained.
We requested more information on Sunday but have not heard back. We also stopped by the Ravenna police Department records division early Sunday evening, but it was closed.
News 5 Photojournalist David Colabine stopped by the apartment complex on Sunday and spoke with residents, some of whom witnessed the shooting.
Amanda Walker said there was no commotion she could hear until Ravenna police arrived.
"[Ravenna Police officers] kept saying, 'Drop the gun. Drop the gun.' I [saw] the guy come out of the apartment. I immediately looked away because I knew something bad was going to happen and I just heard all these gunshots," Walker stated. "It was too much. I don't even know how to process it."
A neighbor of Walker's, Tierra Chambers, said she was asleep at the time of the shooting, but the alarming sound of gunshots woke her up. She estimated that four or five shots popped off.
"I just saw police, EMT, detectives, a crime scene unit pulling up. I was just standing in front of my balcony, shooken up, scared, crying. I freaked out more because it's just so scary like the walls and ceilings are so thin. Anything could have happened. Anyone could have gotten shot. I'm recently pregnant, so it was really scary for me. That bullet could have shot anyone and it's just really sad and tragic and scary," Chambers added.
The consensus across the handful of residents News 5 interviewed was that they couldn't believe what had happened.
Joshua Cook didn't see what happened, but he too was awoken by the sounds of gunfire.
"I just moved here a couple of months ago and nothing like this has ever happened. It's just insane," Cook explained.
As News 5 spoke with Cook in the hallway of the apartment complex, he pointed out blood stains in the hallway.
"It's pretty crazy— those blood stains," he said.
Kim Polley also lives in the complex and described the shooting as "outrageous," but said "it is what it is" when asked if the incident would cause her to move.
"I don't like it," she said. "But it's nice here."
The residents we talked to hope to learn more in the coming days.
In the meantime, neighbors like Walker and Chambers are getting to know each other in case crime scene tape ever dresses their homes again.
"Now that this happened, I feel like we definitely should probably come together just to be aware of more things," Chambers told Walker Sunday morning.
BCI is leading the investigation due to the involvement of Ravenna officers in the shooting. Agents are currently interviewing witnesses, and the identity of the suspect is being withheld pending further investigation.
Anyone with information regarding the incident is encouraged to contact the Ravenna Police Department at 330-296-6486.
