Westlake Robbery Suspect was Carrying an Airsoft Gun When He Was Fatally Shot by Police

WESTLAKE, OH - Devan Desnoyers, who was shot and killed by Westlake Police yesterday after robbing a CVS and fleeing in a car, was carrying an airsoft gun, not an actual gun, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation says.

Westlake Police originally said that the gun recovered from the scene was either a real gun or a realistic looking replica.

Desnoyers robbed the CVS at 30791 Detroit Road yesterday and then fled in a white Mazda before crashing at the intersection of Crocker and Detroit roads, police said. Two officers then shot Desnoyers. Officers at the scene made life-saving efforts including CPR, an AED, and tourniquet application. Desnoyers was then transported to St. John Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

Westlake officers and federal agents are investigating whether Desnoyers is the same suspect involved in a string of CVS drugstore robberies across the region. Stores in Lakewood, Cleveland and Olmsted Township were hit in the last three weeks. In each of those robberies, opioids were taken and the suspect passed a note saying that he had a gun. The Westshore Enforcement Bureau Narcotics Task Force collated that suspect information and distributed it to area police departments.

Two officers fired their weapons during the incident with Desnoyers. Both officers are male. One is 38 and has 13 years of experience. The second is 28 and has three years of experience. A third officer's cruiser was struck by the suspect's vehicle during the chase. That officer was not injured.

You can hear the 911 call that tipped police to Desnoyers whereabouts here.