PARMA, Ohio — Parma Police arrested a man they said was "armed" and "considered dangerous," Friday, after a 27-year-old man from Cleveland prompted Thoreau Park Elementary School to go on lockdown due to the police activity.
According to police, officers made a traffic stop around 3:25 p.m. on a 2004 Chevrolet Equinox for an equipment violation.
Police said after brief contact with the driver, he fled the traffic stop at a high rate of speed eastbound on Brookpark Road.
Stop-strips were then deployed successfully by assisting officers, flattening a rear tire.
And despite the damage, the man continued to flee until the car came to a stop in the area of Brookpark Road and West 54th Street, police said.
The man was holding a gun in his right hand and fled on foot southbound through backyards. During the foot pursuit, the man shot one round from the firearm, but it did not strike anyone, police said.
Parma PD said out of an abundance of caution, Thoreau Park Elementary School was put on lockdown, and a perimeter was created with the help of neighboring police departments.
The man, a 27-year-old from Cleveland, was found in the 5600 block of Bradley Avenue and taken into custody without incident at about 4:54 pm, said Parma PD.
Police said this case is currently under investigation, and appropriate charges will be determined.
Patrick Hanna lives on the same block where the man was found.
"We were looking in our backyard, the cops were going through the backyards, they were looking everywhere for him. There were at least 14 cop cars, SWAT was here and there were drones in the sky. They noticed he was hiding under someone's car, and I saw them drag him from under the car," said Hanna.
