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Stray bullet hits East Tech High School in CLE

Posted at 3:51 PM, Apr 11, 2016
and last updated 2016-04-11 18:43:56-04

A stray bullet hit the back door entrance of East Technical School, according to police, but no injuries were reported. 

The back of the school is located at East 59th Street and Scovill Avenue.

Police responded to the school around 3 p.m. for a report of shots fired in the area.

After an investigation, they learned at least one round had struck a back glass door at the school. 

Cleveland police said they are looking for three people involved in the shooting. The suspects were described by police as three black men.

Police said East Tech was placed on lockdown, but has since been lifted. Students were released shortly after.

Police confirmed the school was placed on Code Blue. 

The Cleveland Metropolitan School District released this statement on Monday:

For the safety of students, East High School went into a brief lockdown before dismissal this afternoon after a citizen witnessed a suspect firing a weapon in an area outside the school.  Reportedly, a stray bullet hit the door of the building.

Fortunately, students were inside the building and were kept safely there until Cleveland Police deemed the area around the school safe for dismissal.

Roseann Canfora, Ph.D.
Chief Communications Officer
Cleveland Metropolitan School District

Parents contacted newsnet5.com and said only their student was notified of the incident and not the parents. Canfora confirmed that families were notified with this message:

This is Temujin Taylor, Principal of East Tech HS with an important message for families about an incident that occurred before school let out today.

For the safety of students, we went into a brief lockdown just after 3 p.m. when a citizen witnessed at least one youth firing a weapon in an area outside East Tech High School, hitting the southeast side of the building.

Fortunately, students were inside the building when the incident took place and we are grateful for the quick response of the Cleveland Police Department and our own security officers who kept students safely inside until the area outside was deemed safe for dismissal.

This message is to allay any fears based on rumor or exaggeration of this incident.