Cleveland police are investigating a tragic murder-suicide that unfolded Wednesday afternoon in the city’s West Park neighborhood, leaving two men dead and a community in shock.
Officers were called to the 15700 block of Munn Road around 1:30 p.m. after receiving reports of a shooting. When they arrived, they found a 50-year-old man lying in the street with a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Neighbors said the man had been mowing his lawn at the time he was shot.
The suspected shooter, believed to be a nearby resident, fled the scene but was quickly located by officers just minutes away at the Stinchcomb-Groth Memorial in the Rocky River Reservation. Inside the vehicle, police found the man dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Cleveland City Councilman Charles Slife confirmed the incident on social media and shared that both the victim and the suspect lived in the same neighborhood. He said the suspect had been a source of ongoing tension in the community, with several residents expressing frustration over his behavior.
“He had continuous problems, everybody did in the neighborhood,” one neighbor said.
Slife also noted that neighbors gathered at the scene were visibly shaken. At one point, a local priest was called to offer a prayer for the victim, honoring his faith.
“He was a great neighbor, he was a great guy,” another resident said tearfully.
Due to the proximity of the incident, at least one local school altered its pickup procedures out of caution.
The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner responded to both locations, and the Cleveland Division of Police says the investigation is ongoing. Authorities have not released the names of the victim or the suspect.