A suspect accused of fatally shooting a police officer near Cleveland on Saturday night has died, authorities said Sunday.
According to Euclid Police Chief Scott Meyer on Sunday, a caller reported that the child’s father had threatened her and her child, prompting the dispatch of officers to a residence in Euclid, Ohio, shortly before 10 p.m.
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Meyer claimed that gunfire “ambushed” the police officers as they proceeded to inspect the backyard.
Officer Jacob Derbin was shot and taken to the hospital, but died from his injuries later that night, according to authorities. Meyer reported that no other police officers sustained injuries.
On Sunday, authorities found the suspect deceased in a home in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Law enforcement officials declined to elaborate on how the suspect died or whether officers and the suspect exchanged firearms.
Tactical teams had been on the scene for hours, according to Meyer, and the suspect, 24-year-old Deshawn Anthony Vaughn, who CBS affiliate WOIO identified, refused to leave the house. There were no other injuries reported Sunday, according to the police.
Shaker Heights is approximately nine miles south of Euclid.
Derbin, 23, was a war veteran who had worked for the police department for less than a year, according to Meyer. Meyer reported that Derbin had engaged and planned to marry in July. Meyer said his father is also a Euclid police officer.
“The Euclid Police Department asks that you keep the fallen officer, his family, loved ones, and our agency in your thoughts and prayers,” stated Capt. Mitch Houser in a news release.
Houser stated that “multiple law enforcement agencies” were involved in the search for the person responsible.
Residents on the street where the event occurred reported hearing approximately a dozen gunshots, according to NBC affiliate WKYC.
Meyer called the dead cop “an amazing human being” with a “great heart” and “an incredible smile.”
“The world’s a better place with him in it,” Meyer remarked.
Mayor Kirsten Holzheimer Gail stated on Sunday that “we find ourselves grappling with a profound sense of sorrow and disbelief.” The mayor asked the community “to come together in solidarity and support, not only to honor a hero who selflessly served and protected us but also to offer strength to one another in this time of grief.”
