More than 600 calls came into the Cleveland Division of Police overnight on the July Fourth holiday, including reports of gunshots that police say left three people dead on the city's east side.
The bulk of the calls came in between the hours of 10 p.m. Friday and 6 a.m. Saturday, according to police chief Annie Todd, with 200 of those calls reporting incidents in the fourth district.
Police responded to two shootings in the Slavic Village and Buckeye-Shaker neighborhoods early Saturday morning.
The police department didn't have staffing challenges, Todd said, but added that responding to a high volume of calls in a short time period is difficult.
There's no amount of staffing that can cover 600 calls for service in the night in the city of Cleveland, or 200 just in one police district in an eight-hour period, Todd said.
A 'chaotic' night
The first call came in at about 11:30 p.m. Friday, Todd said, reporting an unauthorized block party with more than 500 people in the area of East 110th Street, East 120th Street and Miles Avenue.
Officers responded to the scene where fireworks caught fire and multiple fights were occurring, Todd said. Two officers were injured.
By 3 a.m., CDP's ShotSpotter alerted officers to a shooting in the 6900 block of Fullerton Avenue in Slavic Village. The officer found two people, a man and a woman, dead from gunshot wounds.
An hour later, around 4:15 a.m., additional ShotSpotter alerts and calls for service came in regarding a large, chaotic car meetup with more than 100 vehicles at Buckeye Plaza, Todd said.
A 22-year-old male, who was shot multiple times, died at the hospital, Todd said.
Five other victims between the ages of 18 and 22 years old sustained injuries, according to a news release.
Police found two guns in bushes nearby, and two additional guns in a vehicle towed from an area hospital, Todd said.
The reason for either shooting remains unclear, Todd said. No arrests have been made, but the investigation is ongoing.
Footage from the public is essential to the investigation, Todd said.
A lot of times a lot of this is shared on social media, she said. So, we are hoping that anyone with tips can either contact or our .
Violent crime rates remain low
Cleveland's violent crime is still down, Todd said, amid recent shootings.
Our homicides are down ... almost 30 percent. Our felonious assaults are down almost 30 percent, she said. One incident is too many, but if you look at the overall stats for the city for this year in 2025, compared to even last year, our major crimes like that are down.
