PAINESVILLE, Ohio — A 21-year-old man is in custody after allegedly assaulting a female teen with a knife, then barricading himself inside a Painesville apartment on Wednesday.
The resulting standoff near Painesville's Harvey High School resulted in students across the district being kept in place.
According to the Painesville Police Department, officers were called to the 200 block of Liberty Street around 1:15 p.m. for a report of a female assaulted with a knife by her boyfriend. While the 18-year-old victim was treated by members of the Painesville City Fire Department, the suspect barricaded himself inside his apartment.
Superintendent Dr. Joshua Englehart told 3News authorities informed the district of the situation sometime before 2 p.m., the same time Harvey students were scheduled to be dismissed for the day. City officials confirmed the unidentified suspect had holed himself inside a home on Liberty Street, and that district administrators were alerted so no students in the area were let out.
As a precaution, Englehart decided keep students in place not just at Harvey, but all public school buildings in the district. This meant high schoolers were kept about an hour and 45 minutes past normal, while elementary school kids didn't leave until roughly 15 minutes after standard time.
The Lake County SWAT team was activated and officers were able to end the standoff peacefully. The suspect, who has not yet been identified, was arrested and taken to the Lake County Jail. He has been charged with felonious assault and domestic violence. The suspect, who is currently being held without bond, will appear in Painesville Municipal Court later this week.
Authorities gave the "all clear" signal around 3:45 p.m., with Englehart indicating officers had apprehended the suspect and swept the house to rule out any further threat. The superintendent added it did not appear the students were ever in any real danger due to the "external and localized" nature of the standoff, and buses were called shortly after the stalemate ended with parents being kept in the loop throughout.