Suspect arrested in back-to-back blow-dart gun shootings in Cleveland
A man suspected of shooting two people with a blow-dart gun in back-to-back broad daylight attacks this week in the same Cleveland, Ohio, neighborhood, has been arrested, police said on Wednesday.
The 42-year-old suspect, whose name was not immediately released, was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of felony assault following a two-day manhunt, according to the Cleveland Police Department.
One of the victims was shot multiple times with blow darts and had to undergo surgery, according to police.
The bizarre attacks unfolded around 4 p.m. local time on Monday in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood of west Cleveland, police said in a statement to ABC News on Wednesday morning.
A woman targeted in the first incident alleged the suspect, whom she recognized from the neighborhood, verbally insulted her and struck her in the face with his hand in an unprovoked attack, according to the police statement.
The victim alleged that a short time later, the suspect confronted her again in the parking lot of a Family Dollar store, according to the police report. The man allegedly pulled out a blow-dart gun and fired it repeatedly at the woman, striking her with needle-like darts at least five times, according to police.
"Upon arrival, officers located a 56-year-old woman who had been struck with several long-needle darts," police said.
She was taken to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, where she underwent surgery to remove one of the darts that pierced her liver, according to police.
While at the hospital with the first victim, police received a report that a second person had been shot with a blow-dart gun in the same Clark-Fulton neighborhood near the busy intersection of West 25th Street and Clark Ave., according to police.
Officers who responded to the scene in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood discovered a 40-year-old man suffering from wounds in the blow-dart gun attack, police said.
"The victim stated that he was in the area of West 25th Street when an unknown male shot him with a blow dart. He reported running from the area and calling 911," according to the police report.
The victim was treated at a hospital for his injuries, police said.
A search was immediately launched, according to police. On Wednesday, officers arrested the suspect after spotting him in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood, according to the police statement.
During the arrest, officers recovered a blow-dart gun as evidence, police said.
