LORAIN, Ohio — Surveillance video released by the Lorain Police Department details the moments surrounding shots being fired outside of Washington Elementary School on Thursday. It shows the quick response by the school's resource officer to track down one of the suspects, who is now in custody.
The incident happened at 2:35 p.m. as students were being let out of the building on West 23rd Street. School Resource Officer Nick Gerace can be seen monitoring the dismissal, giving fist bumps to students on their way out.
"You're trained to be a resource for the school, interact with the kids," Gerace told 3News Friday. "And when you have to go police mode, you just flip it."
Across the street, two people are seen walking westbound. When the shots are fired, one of them runs from the scene, while another walks away.
"Heard two or three shots; instantly recognized them as gunshots," Gerace remembered. "Looked up, saw the shooter still actively shooting, and then at that point, I ran.”
Moments after the shots were fired, Gerace is seen running through a crowd of fleeing children, then moving across the street to chase the shooter. As Gerace pursued the suspect through the neighborhood, Washington "as well as additional schools in the area" (including Hawthorne Elementary) were placed under a Level 1 lockdown, meaning all students and staff were instructed to stay inside classrooms with hallways cleared.
"You see him, like, he shot out of a cannon. Takes off sprinting toward the gunfire," Lorain Superintendent Jeff Graham said of Gerace's efforts. "It was traumatic for a lot of people. It was a truly awful event, but again, because of the response, people were safe."
The foot pursuit continued to a house in the 1000 block of West 22nd Street. Detectives obtained a warrant, then SWAT officers raided the home and arrested 20-year-old Jamel Geiger.
On Friday, Gerace got a hero's welcome at Washington Elementary. Students and staff lined the hallways and outside the school to applaud the man who put his life on the line to protect them.
"It's not something we decided as law enforcement. That's the only response," Gerace stressed. "So, it wasn't a decision I had to make. Just a natural reaction that we're all trained to do at LPD."
"I would like to commend Officer Gerace for running toward the gunfire at great personal risk, and to the members of the Lorain Police Department for their quick and decisive response to this situation that ended with the arrest of the suspect," Police Chief Jim McCann said in a statement.
No one was hurt in the incident, and all students were released by 5 p.m. The school district says nearby Gen. Johnnie Wilson Middle School, where classes were scheduled to run until 3:30, was also on alert.
Geiger faces several charges including four counts of felonious assault plus resisting arrest and inducing panic. He was taken to Lorain County Jail and is scheduled to appear before a judge in Lorain Municipal Court on Friday.
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