Police probe 6 homicides in 24-hour period

CLEVELAND» Police in Cleveland are investigating a half-dozen homicides in a 24-hour span, including a man shot by a housing authority officer and an 83-year-old woman apparently struck by gunfire coming from outside her home.

Shortly before 5 p.m. Friday, police said, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority officers were investigating a vehicle connected to a shooting the day before. They ordered a suspect out of the vehicle but say the suspect pointed a gun at an officer, who fired. The male fled but collapsed and later died at Metro Hospital.

Cleveland police said the 83-year-old woman was found dead in her home Saturday morning. She was identified as Katie Brown by the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office. Police say it’s possible she was shot during the night by an unknown persons or persons outside the home, because multiple bullet “defects” were observed in the building.

At about 9 a.m. Friday, officers reported an unidentified man lying in a driveway with a gunshot wound, and he later died at a hospital. Witness reported seeing a man getting out of a vehicle, approaching the victim and shooting him before driving off.

At about 11 a.m. Friday, a 31-year-old man was found shot in a food market parking lot and was pronounced dead at a hospital. Investigators also said Saturday an 18-year-old man found shot had apparently been shot inside a vehicle that fled after the victim was pushed out. At about 12:45 a.m. Saturday, a man was found shot in the chest after police said some other men forced their way into an apartment and a fight ensued.