CLEVELAND — A 38-year-old man was shot and injured Tuesday night by police officers and deputies after they said he led them on a nearly hour-long car chase.
Cleveland Police Chief Annie Todd said the suspect was involved in four armed carjackings and one attempted carjacking Tuesday night.
She said the first reports came in around 9 p.m. after three carjackings on West 150th Street. While attempting to locate the suspect, police received two more reports of carjackings on the east side, one on Quimby Avenue and another near the intersection of E 79th Street and Superior Avenue.
Cleveland Police Chief Annie Todd explained the situation during a press conference on Wednesday morning.
See what the chief said here:
Chief Todd said the suspect took off when officers located one of the stolen vehicles near the Fifth District. They began a pursuit through multiple districts for almost an hour, briefly crossing into Shaker Heights.
“Our officers knew we had a mobile, active shooter. And this was our priority to make sure we took this dangerous person off the street,” Todd said.
The Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office assisted Cleveland Police during the chase.
During the pursuit, Todd said the 38-year-old was waving a firearm out of the vehicle's window and proceeded to fire shots at the officers.
“We have information that potentially there may have been pedestrians that were almost struck by this gunfire from the suspect, as well as possibly a vehicle that may have been struck,” Todd said.
Deputies with the sheriff's office successfully deployed spike strips, but the suspect's vehicle did not stop and continued for another 15 to 20 minutes on its rims.
Todd said department policy permits officers to continue pursuits, especially if the suspect involved poses a threat to the public.
“We can pursue vehicles, we will pursue vehicles, we will pursue violent offenders,” she said.
On South Moreland Boulevard, officers performed a pit maneuver, bringing the vehicle to a stop.
Once the pursuit ended, two Cleveland Police officers and two sheriff's deputies exchanged gunfire with the 38-year-old suspect.
Officers rendered aid to the man, who was then transported to a nearby hospital in critical condition. No officers were injured.
“When these things take place, we do our absolute best to ensure that they’re resolved with the least amount of disruption to our community and end them as soon as possible," said Cuyahoga County Sheriff Harold Pretel. "Because as you can see, some offenders don’t mind the level of violence they put out in our cities.”
The man has not yet been charged. Todd said the officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave, per department policy.
"These incidents don't occur in a vacuum; they touch all of our communities, not just the actual victimizing, but then you have downstream effects of pursuits and different things that go on," Cuyahoga County Sheriff Harold Pretel said during Wednesday's press conference.
He said his office received a federal grant over the summer to start a Response to Carjackings initiative. The first-of-its-kind program leverages local and federal partners to track and investigate carjackings, using technology, a statistician from Cleveland State and a special detail from the Sheriff's crime strategies unit.
“It’s important that we have the finger on those, so we can determine the patterns, determine the people involved in those and determine the best resolution to those,” Pretel said.
He said the events Tuesday night will be part of the statistics the initiative is tracking.
We spoke to a witness who told us he watched the event unfold as the suspect and officers exchanged fire.
The witness captured video of the shootout, which he shared with Good Morning Cleveland reporter Mike Holden:
A News 5 crew on scene saw a heavily damaged black Chevrolet Impala that had crashed into the curb of a home along South Moreland Boulevard. The vehicle had at least three visible bullet holes near both passenger side windows, one missing tire, and the remaining tires were flattened.
Crews also towed away a white pickup truck and a GMC SUV from the scene. The white pickup had a bullet hole in the passenger side window. Cleveland Police swarmed the Buckeye-Shaker neighborhood with a massive presence. News 5 journalists watched from a distance as they put up crime tape and processed the area.
#BREAKING: EMS confirms 38 year old man in critical condition following Tuesday evening incident. Eyewitness says this was a police chase, crash & shoot out along South Moreland in Cle. He heard 50 gunshots. Live reports on @WEWS GMC. Stay with us. Awaiting police updates. pic.twitter.com/5ueJ1CubMW
— Mike Holden (@MikeHoldenNews) January 7, 2026
Investigators placed more than 16 evidence markers in the street and sidewalk. News 5 is actively working to obtain information from Cleveland Police on the status of their investigation, including what led to the chase and whether anyone is in custody. Check back here for updates.
