CLEVELAND — Cleveland police have a suspect in custody for a shooting in broad daylight that put a UPS driver in the hospital Tuesday afternoon.
Police said the shooting happened in the 4800 block of Scovill Avenue.
The 55-year-old man suffered multiple gunshot wounds.
"We came outside and everybody was gathered around and we were just praying for the person because it's just sad that people can’t just do their jobs and deliver," said Bluu Morrison, who heard the gunshot. "You don’t wake up and just think that something’s going to happen to you."
The driver told police that a man approached him and asked him for money. The driver gave the man $5 cash, and the man demanded more. That's when the driver went to the back of the truck, locked all the doors and called 911.
While the driver was on the call, the man went to the back of the truck, fired into it with a shotgun, and said, "If you don't give me more money I'll shoot again," the police report states. The driver said he was hit, opened the back door, and gave the suspect $82 more. The suspect then fled.
The victim was transported to Metro Hospital in unknown condition.
"I just pray that he’s okay," said concerned residents Desiree Mills. "It bothers me so much that I have to sit up here and go through this."
While one officer was attending to the driver, another officer followed the suspect, who had fled into a nearby apartment complex, the report states. The officer found the suspect as he had keys in the door of an apartment unit, trying to make entry. The officer grabbed the suspect, who then dropped a shotgun.
The suspect was then handcuffed and searched. The report states the officer found $82 in cash soaked in blood in the suspect's pocket.
Police have not said whether the suspect has been charged at this time.
"We have children out here, and for all of this to just happen is….just frightens me and the safety for all these children," said Mills, who is due in November with her first child. "It happened in broad daylight, like come on!"
A UPS representative said in a statement: "UPS is thankful for the quick action by the first responders this evening, and, our driver is now recovering."
