VALLEY VIEW, Ohio — We are learning more after a shooting in Valley View left one man dead and concluded with two people taken into custody following a fiery crash in Brooklyn Heights.
The shooting happened on Thursday morning at the intersection of Granger Road (State Route 17) and Brecksville Road (State Route 21). Dispatch audio reveals that officers were dispatched to the scene at approximately 9:45 a.m.
Valley View police confirm they found a man there bleeding from a gunshot wound.
In new details released Friday morning, the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office identified the victim as 41-year-old Christopher Andexler of Cleveland. He was pronounced dead Thursday at MetroHealth Medical Center.
According to Valley View Police Chief David Niro, the shooting happened after an altercation between two parties – Andexler, who was driving a large gray van, and a couple in a minivan with two kids inside.
Police say the male driver of the minivan, who has not been identified, shot Andexler before driving away from the scene.
The minivan was found crashed and on fire just off of Schaaf Road in Brooklyn Heights. Niro said the couple was detained at the Valley View Police Department for questioning, while their two young children (ages 2 and 4) were taken in by Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services.
Valley View police and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) are continuing to investigate what led up to the shooting.
Michael Reiser, Andexler’s boss, tells 3News he learned of Andexler’s death when BCI came by their place of work, Great Lakes Brookside Forklifts.
“I didn’t know what to think, it was a shock. You know, I saw him half an hour ago, and now he’s gone,” said Reiser. “He’s been here ten years, and obviously he’s like family to us. He was like a brother, great guy.”
Reiser says an investigator with BCI was trying to recover footage of the crash. At the time of the incident, Reiser says Andexler was driving a work van on the way to help a customer.
He says each work van is equipped with GPS, a dash camera, and a microphone, but the cameras activate on impact or when a vehicle suddenly breaks. Reiser is unsure whether the dash camera captured anything.