EUCLID, Ohio — "All of a sudden, I kind of hear this crash: 'Bam!'"
Jerry Schmidt was in his Collinwood art studio when he was caught off guard by a teenager, one of four suspects who allegedly hit a Euclid police vehicle before sending officers on a high-speed chase through the streets on the highway into Cleveland.
At one point in the pursuit, the teens crashed into a utility pole before getting out of the car and started running. One of the teens jumped into the Schmidt Sculpture Studio on Waterloo Road.
"He had to crouch down to come at me," Schmidt recalled, telling 3News the suspect was bending down between the sculptures. "I'm standing here screaming for him to get down on the ground."
The next thing Schmidt says he remembers is the teen pointing a gun right at him. He had to make a quick decision because he was also inside the studio with a friend who visited him earlier that day.
"I was able to grab his arm with the gun in his hand," Schmidt explained. "Somehow I kind of threw him down, and his gun went out that way underneath the table there."
Schmidt was in a fight for his life, but was ultimately able to pin down the teenager until the police got there seconds later.
"Whatever came into my body, I have no idea," he recalled. "I'm just freaking out. I'm just thinking, 'I've got to protect us, I've got to protect, because he's going to kill us.'"
Watch body camera video of the pursuit below:
Schmidt says his career as a sculptor saved his life because the pieces slowed the suspect down. Now, he's shaken up by the incident, and packing up to leave Cleveland.
"I put my building up yesterday for sale," he declared. "This is not the first time and not the second time I've had guns pulled on me. This was too real."
Right now, his biggest fear is retaliation. However, leaving is the last thing he wants to do.
"I've been here 41 years," he said, through tears. "It kills me. It hurts me. All my kids were born here."
Schmidt says he plans to have a liquidation sale for his art before he leaves. Four teens were arrested in connection with the incident, and Euclid police confirm to WKYC that the department recovered two firearms, one which was stolen. The officer injured during the incident is expected to return to work later this week.