SWAT checkpoint in Cleveland ends with three dead, including a shooter

A late-night standoff between Cleveland police, SWAT team officers and members of two families ended with three people dead, including a gunman who took his own life Wednesday, according to police.

Deputy Chief Ali Pillow said his department received a call around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday alerting them that a man had barricaded himself in a home on the city’s east side. Units already in the area investigating violent crimes, including crisis mediators, were dispatched and found the threat to be credible.

The suspect said he “severely injured some family members and threatened suicide,” according to Pillow.

Officers made contact with the suspect and a SWAT team entered the home where they discovered two people were dead.

Negotiations with the shooter continued all night until he finally took his own life around 10:30 a.m., according to Pillow.

“At no time were shots fired other than the suspect’s suicide,” Pillow said.

Police said they tried to get the suspected shooter to come downstairs from his hiding place on the second floor of the house.

Some neighbors were evacuated from their homes while others were told to seek shelter in their basements. Pillow would not provide any further information about the victims or the suspect.