PAINESVILLE, Ohio — Law enforcement responded after a gunshot was reportedly fired in the parking lot of Riverview Elementary School in Painesville on Thursday morning. The gunshot was allegedly fired by an off-duty member of the Cleveland Division of Police, who was taken into custody by the school's resource officer.
The school was placed on lockdown following the incident, but it has since been lifted.
According to Robert Izzo, the Chief Deputy for the Lake County Sheriff's Office, a domestic situation allegedly started off campus, but moved into the school's parking lot. It resulted in one shot being fired. A spokesperson for Riverside Local Schools says the gunshot was not fired in the direction of the school.
The school's resource officer arrested the suspect involved. The Cleveland Division of Police has confirmed that the suspect taken into custody was an off-duty officer. The officer's name is not being released until charges are filed.
According to the Painesville Township Fire Department, there were "a few EMS transports from the scene with non-life threatening injuries."
District officials say that the school day at Riverview will continue as normal, but if parents want to pick up their children, they can come to the school and sign them out.
3News live streamed footage from the scene, which can be viewed in the video below:
Riverside Local Schools posted the following release about the incident on Thursday afternoon:
At about 9:10 a.m., Riverview Elementary was placed on lockdown due to a domestic issue that began off-site and then carried into the parking lot of Riverview Elementary. During this dispute, a shot was fired near the vehicles involved in the parking lot, away from the school toward Madison Avenue. The shot was not fired in the direction of the school. As a result, no major injuries were reported.
Our School Safety Officer, who is a deputy with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, other sheriff’s deputies and surrounding area police and fire departments promptly responded to the scene and a person of interest was immediately detained by our school safety officer.
We want to confirm that there was no threat made toward staff or students at any time. All safety protocols were implemented and followed. Local law enforcement agencies remained on scene throughout the morning to assist with classroom and building safety checks, directing traffic and helping student check-out. In addition, grief counselors from Signature Health were called to the school and were available for any students or staff who wanted to speak with someone. Madison Avenue was re-opened around noon.
No other schools in the District were placed on lockdown due to this being an isolated incident and the person of interest being detained immediately.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office will continue to investigate the incident and will provide further updates as their investigation continues.
We want to express our deepest gratitude to our School Safety Officer Deputy Ward, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office as well as all of the surrounding area police and fire departments and Signature Health for their prompt and rapid response to this matter. We also want to thank the entire Riverview Elementary staff for their swift response and professional handling of the situation and the care and compassion they showed for their students.
