by
Holly Matkin
East Cleveland police shot an armed rapist on Tuesday who had been pistol-whipping his victim.
East Cleveland, OH – An alleged rape suspect was fatally shot by police on Tuesday as he pistol-whipped a frantic woman and pointed a handgun at her head (video below).
The incident began at approximately 3:40 p.m. on Nov. 5 when East Cleveland police received a report of a rape in progress at 13855 Superior Avenue, WOIO reported.
Officers were told that a male suspect had already shot a female victim in the arm, according to WKYC.
Cell phone footage showed the officers as they confronted the irate, shirtless suspect outside an apartment building.
The victim, who was wearing a blue shirt, was lying on the ground by the armed man’s feet.
One officer had parked his patrol vehicle on the apartment lawn, and he and his partner used the vehicle as partial coverage as they repeatedly ordered the suspect to drop his gun, bodycam footage showed.
But the gunman ignored their commands and began dragging the woman across the grass by her hair, the cell phone video showed.
She rose to a sitting position and appeared to cover her face with her arms, but she did not stand up.
The attacker then swung back, struck her in the face with his gun, and pointed the weapon at her head, the cell phone footage showed.
At the same moment, the officers opened fire on the suspect.
The frantic woman remained on the ground as she pushed herself back towards the patrol vehicle.
Despite having been shot several times, the gunman remained on his feet with the gun firmly gripped in his hand for another 14 seconds.
He stood over the victim once more and raised his arm as if to strike her again, but then fell backwards onto the grass, the cell phone video showed.
The woman was then able to get to her feet and ran to the opposite side of the patrol vehicle.
The gunman landed with his arms out to his sides, and did not appear to make any movements in the moments that followed.
The suspect was transported to University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Read more about this story here: https://defensemaven.io/bluelivesmatter/news/video-police-take-out-rapist-as-he-s-beating-victim-1W5X-NxsekCFqDYPHla11Q/
