WICKLIFFE, Ohio — One suspect is in the hospital and another in custody following an encounter with officers Friday morning.
According to the Wickliffe Police Department, two of their officers went to the parking lot of the Dollar General on Euclid Avenue for a report of an altercation with a man and a woman. The 54-year-old Cleveland man was inside the car, while the 37-year-old woman was outside and being told to "stop" by the officers. She apparently ignored their commands, and ended up climbing into the driver's seat of the black sedan.
Officials say one of the officers attempted to pull the woman out while the other tried to keep her from starting the car, but the suspect ended up starting the engine and accelerating the vehicle backward into a pole. She then drove forward, and one of the officers fired three shots from their gun and struck the woman in the shoulder; she drove off anyway with the man still inside.
Authorities briefly lost sight of them, but the car was found (with the man now driving) heading eastbound on Euclid Avenue. A chase ensued all the way behind a factory on East 345th Street, where officers from Willowick and Willoughby assisted Wickliffe in blocking the vehicle and arresting both suspects.
The woman was eventually taken to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland due to the gunshot wound on her left shoulder, but is expected to make a full recovery. No one else was injured in the incident.
Both the woman and the man are facing felony charges, while the officer who shot the woman has been placed on leave in accordance with department protocol. An investigation into the incident is ongoing.