CLEVELAND — Cleveland Heights officials said Friday that the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) will be leading the probe into the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Christian Alexander Tyson Thomas by three police officers.
Cleveland Heights Mayor Kahlil Seren and Police Chief Chris Britton held a briefing to provide information on Thursday night's shooting near the 1300 block of Yellowstone Road. Thomas' sister was the one who called 911.
"Please, please bring the police, please," she told dispatchers.
Officers were dispatched to the area for a disturbance involving Thomas and his father at around 10 p.m. Police were told that Thomas was pointing a gun at his father and his finger was on the trigger. Voices could be heard on the 911 call yelling, "Put the gun down!"
When they arrived at the scene, officers were met outside by two females who told them that a gunshot had been fired.
"The scenario was nothing short of intense," Britton noted.
Britton said that officers remained outside the home and heard Thomas's father repeatedly tell his son to take his finger off the trigger. Officers also reported seeing Thomas in the front doorway with a gun in his hand.
Officers then reported hearing a "loud crash," followed by at least one gunshot.
"Christian (Thomas) subsequently exited the home while still holding the gun encountered by CHP officers at the side of the house," Britton explained. "Three CHP officers discharged their weapons, injuring Christian."
"All of a sudden, you hear just a barrage of gunfire. It was a lot," neighbor Eileen Simmons said. "It happened so fast and at that point we were literally on the ground because we didn’t know exactly what was going on."
Britton said officers "immediately" rendered first aid and CPR, but Thomas died at the scene.
No officers or bystanders were injured. A Cleveland Heights officer reported finding a handgun and shell casing at the scene.
Britton added that in the small amount of body camera footage he has reviewed, he did not observe Thomas pointing the gun at officers.
According to Britton, the three officers have been placed on administrative leave per the department's policy. Cleveland Heights police have also launched an internal investigation into the incident.
You can watch Friday's briefing at Cleveland Heights City Hall in the player below.
REACTION FROM MAYOR SEREN
"Obviously, this is a tragedy no matter when it happens or to whom. In this case, it was 18-year-old Christian Thomas, a Cleveland Heights kid who died in this incident. I want to express my deepest sympathies and condolences to the family. I've had some brief conversations with them and I've expressed those condolences to them."
"Cleveland Heights takes this extremely seriously and we recognize that this is a tragedy. We don't want anyone to look at this and our action subsequent to this incident as anything other than us taking it very seriously and allowing Ohio law enforcement to look into this in a thorough investigation. We believe it is our role to cooperate fully in that investigation."