SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio — Editor's note: The video in the player above is from a story published on Jan. 4, 2021.
The Shaker Heights Police Department is investigating today after several robberies took place near local churches over the past week.
According to officials, police were first called on Tuesday, March 30, around 3:30 p.m. to the scene of 17000 Winslow Road, where a 50-year-old man and his 10-year-old son reported being robbed at gunpoint.
The 50-year-old Shaker Heights resident told police that two men wearing masks and hoodies walked up to them and demanded he hand over all his belongings, all while shoving a handgun into his side. The man told police that the incident happened in the parking lot of St. Peter's Lutheran Church.
After taking the belongings of the Shaker Heights man, the two robbers fled on foot.
Later that day, police were again called out to investigate a robbery at gunpoint, this time for an incident involving a 65-year-old South Euclid woman around 7:00 p.m.
The woman told officers that two men, also hooded and masked, approached her with a gun pointed, and ordered her to get out of her vehicle and hand over her belongings. This robbery occurred in the 3000 block of Norwood Road in Shaker Heights, near St. Dominic's Church.
In both accounts, the suspects were described as both being African American, in the late teens or early twenties, roughly 5'6-5'8 in height, and weighing no more than 150 pounds.
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Police say they have increased patrol in the area while the investigation remains ongoing.
This is a developing story. Check back with 3News for updates.
Editor's note: The video in the player below is from a story published on Feb. 11, 2021.