Two East Cleveland Police officers were shot Thursday night, according to East Cleveland Mayor Lateek Shabazz.
Shabazz said a press conference to provide an update on the shooting is expected around 10 a.m. You can watch in the player below:
The mayor said both officers are in stable condition and are expected to be OK.
Police were initially called to the 1900 block of North Taylor Road around 11 p.m. for a domestic argument.
Shabazz said the suspect allegedly shot and killed two people. Police believe the two victims are members of the suspect's family, but are waiting for official word from autopsy results for confirmation.
Police said Officer Joshua Durda was shot in the leg by the suspect when he arrived at the scene.
A short time later, a shotspotter alert came in about a block away, and police rushed to that area, and that's where Officer Brandon Hernandez was shot in the buttocks.
The officers are currently at University Hospitals.
If you travel through East Cleveland know that Euclid Avenue is closed at Strathmore to Noble. OSHP now has their plane overhead and multiple swat units are searching the area. North Taylor is also closed at Brunswick to Euclid. Just avoid EC this morning. pic.twitter.com/xtHZfW0oyA
— Mike Vielhaber (@MVielhaber) August 8, 2025
Durda has been on the force for four years, and Hernandez has been on the force for one.
According to Justin Anderson, executive assistant to the mayor, Hernandez is expected to be released from the hospital today. Durda is still in the hospital and may be there for several days.
The suspect was arrested several hours later by police. He is 23 years old, but his identity has not been released at this time.
Multiple agencies from across Northeast Ohio helped East Cleveland with its investigation and the manhunt for the suspect, including Cleveland Heights Police, the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department, Shaker Heights Police, the OSHP and University Circle Police.
The names and ages of the victims haven't been released, but the younger of the two was already dead inside the house when authorities arrived, Anderson said. The older person was taken to a nearby hospital, where they later died.
It's expected that the suspect will face two counts of aggravated murder and felonious assault.
We spoke to East Cleveland resident Clifford Wilson, who witnessed part of last night's events. He's lived in East Cleveland for decades and said sights like last night's have become all too common.
"I want the area cleaned up. I don't want this, I definitely don't want to see police getting shot. I definitely don't want to see no one in this area getting shot," he said.
