FAIRVIEW PARK, Ohio — Investigators think a Northeast Ohio man, who believed he was meeting a woman he talked to online, was actually set up for a carjacking.
According to the Fairview Park Police Department, officers responded to a call for shots fired at a car on the 4200 block of Grannis Road.
“Just before 9, I’m sitting in the front room watching TV and I hear what sounded like fireworks. And I'm like, ‘Who’s the idiot that’s setting fireworks off?” said Paul Bugara, a neighbor on Grannis Road. “Next thing I hear a car speeding up the street and next thing I know, there’s a bunch of police out here.”
Witnesses reported a female was assisted from the scene by an unknown party prior to the officer's arrival.
Officers recovered a handgun and casings from the scene but did not locate anyone associated with the shooting.
Shortly after, officers received a report from the Fairview General Hospital that a 25-year-old Lakewood man drove himself to the emergency room after being shot in the back. After interviewing the man, detectives for the Fairview Park Police Department connected him to the attempted carjacking on Grannis Road.
“We do not believe the victim or the subjects reside in Fairview Park. It was just a random place they chose, for whatever reason, to commit this act,” said Chief Paul Shepard.
He explained the man told investigators he met a woman online and drove from Lakewood to Fairview Park to meet her.
“She gave him directions, saying she lived on this dead end street. She did not. So they lured him into a dead end,” he said.
When the woman got in his car, he was approached by a man with a gun, according to police. The man shot at the 25-year-old's car, hitting him in the back as attempted to drive away. The woman jumped from the car.
“Probably an hour prior to that, my son wanted to walk his daughter up to the park - she wanted him to walk up. But he said, ‘No, it’s getting dark.’ Luckily they weren’t out there then,” said John Eischen, who lives nearby where the shooting happened. “It sounds like they were trying to set somebody up big time."
Investigators believe it was a set-up. The police chief recommends thinking about what you're posting on social media and said anyone who plans to meet someone they first encountered online or is buying or selling to a stranger should use caution.
“If you make a connection online and you want to meet them, do some background on them,” Shepard said. “Whenever someone wants to meet you on a road or in a parking lot or at a place that’s sort of off the beaten path, that should raise a red flag.”
Many city halls and police departments, including the Fairview Park Police Department, feature designated safe meet-up spaces to exchange items bought and sold online.
The 25-year-old's injuries are not life-threatening. His car has been taken as evidence.
Police believe that they have recovered evidence from the scene that will lead to the identification of the shooter and woman. The investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Fairview Park Detective Bureau at 440-356-4422 or email rrutt@fairviewpark.org.
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