Woman Shot 3 Times In Drive-By Attack In Cleveland

CLEVELAND, OH — A woman was shot three times and a man killed early Monday morning during a drive-by shooting and car crash on Cleveland's east side. The man was thrown from the car and died Tuesday from his injuries, police said. The suspects shot at and then rammed the car carrying the pair, according to police reports.

Police were called to a Harvard Avenue address for reports of a woman shot at about 2 a.m. on Monday. They found a wrecked car, pieces of which were littered across the street, including a child's car seat and a 38-year-old woman with a gunshot wound to her stomach, and two gunshot wounds to her arm, nearby.

The woman was in shock but managed to tell police that no child had been in the car during the incident. Police then spotted another person, Otis Morman, a 41-year-old, laying against a fence in a nearby yard. He had been thrown from the wrecked car and was unconscious.

The officers called for additional EMS units. They then found two spent bullet shells tucked into the woman's clothes. When they fell to the ground they rattled off the cement steps she was sitting on.

Finally, a pair of witnesses were located and told police they heard a loud pop sound and then saw a car speeding west on Harvard. That car rammed the car with Morman and the 38-year-old inside. Then it drove off. The witnesses said they thought there were three people inside the speeding car.

Morman and the 38-year-old were rushed to University Hospitals and police sent out a description of the speeding car: it was a white car, possibly a PT cruiser, with front end damage.

The 38-year-old woman's sister soon contacted police and told officers she suspected her sibling's ex-fiance may be involved. He had a history of violence, she told police. In fact, the 38-year-old had filed a domestic violence complaint against the man in early March. She said she called her ex's parole officer about the incident but never heard back from him.

The 38-year-old soon came out of shock at the hospital and then told police what happened that morning. She had been working with Morman, cleaning up a building, while her ex-fiance allegedly called, texted and Facebook messaged her. Her ex wanted to know if she was cheating on him and who she was with.

She left her job with Morman in her car and drove west. At some point she became aware that her ex was following her in a white SUV-like vehicle. He pulled up next to her, rolled down his window and allegedly started screaming about how he was going to kill her.

He then allegedly opened fire on her car, hitting her once in the side and twice in the arm.

The 38-year-old tried to speed away, but her ex allegedly caught up to her and rammed the back of her car. She vaguely remembers spinning out of control, but then things get foggy, she told police.

Morman died from his injuries on April 2, Cleveland Police said.

Police are still investigating the incident.

Photo from Renee Schiavon, Patch