CLEVELAND — The mother of a man shot and killed in a shootout with Cleveland police officers Sunday said she worried about her son's behavior in the months leading up to the shooting.
"I know something was going on with him," said Marie Horton. "So I think it was something mentally going on with him."
Horton said her 39-year-old son, Patrick Horton, used to meet her nearly every week for dinner and to catch up.
But Marie Horton said those visits stopped suddenly a couple of years ago.
Worried, she said she offered to take him to get help for whatever he was dealing with.
But Horton said her son never took her up on that offer.
Now, she struggles to understand what police say led officers to shoot and kill the father-of-three Sunday.
"I still can't believe that's him," said Horton. "What are you talking about? That's not him, to do what he did."
What police said Patrick Horton did was walk along several blocks of Superior Avenue Sunday afternoon pointing a gun at passing cars, and firing as he went.
On Monday, 911 calls that were released detailed Horton walking in the street and firing into the air.
Police said officers found Horton near East 12th Street and Superior Avenue around 3:15 p.m. Sunday.
Investigators said Horton initially put the gun down, but then picked it up and started shooting at police.
A police union spokesman said two officers fired, shooting and killing Horton.
Monday afternoon, a flag pole near the intersection had at least three bullet holes in it. A number of windows at an office building also appeared pierced by gunfire.
Now, as Cuyahoga County Sheriff's deputies investigate the deadly shooting, Marie Horton struggles to understand what happened and why.
"It's heartbreaking," said Horton. "I'm just still in disbelief that something like this could ever happen to my son."
