Cincinnati police believe they have arrested the gunman who shot one of their officers in the face early Wednesday morning.
Police Chief Tom Streicher said two officers pulled over Bryan Caulton along Corinth Avenue on an outstanding warrant. They were in the process of arresting him at about 2 a.m. when the car's passenger, Dante Person, 18, got out and fired one shot from a .45-caliber pistol, hitting Officer Kristina Holtmann, Streicher said.
The bullet went through her hat, shattered her glasses and tore a 2.5-inch gash in her cheek. Doctors removed a piece of shrapnel from Holtmann's right eye late Wednesday morning.
Both officers fired four shots each at Person, who ran away as Holtmann's partner, Officer Lauren Smith, called for assistance. Streicher said Person's gun jammed after firing the first shot.
Officers blocked off streets around the Norwood Lateral and Paddock Road to help aid in the search for the gunman.
Person was found in the basement of a nearby home about two hours later and transported to an area hospital to be treated for a gunshot wound to the leg.
Streicher said that Person's femur was shattered and a major artery in his leg was severed. He was trying to bandage his leg when he was arrested.
Holtmann, 36, was transported to University Hospital for treatment. She was released Wednesday afternoon.
The intersection of Corinth Avenue and California Avenue was closed for much of the morning as crime scene investigators work to collect evidence.
A String Of Police-Related Shootings
It's the third time since December that a gunman has shot at a Cincinnati police officer.
An undercover officer suffered a bullet wound to his shoulder after a man opened fire on him and two other undercover officers in Over-the-Rhine on Dec. 2.
A suspect in the shooting was arrested after he showed up at a Covington hospital with a gunshot wound to his stomach.
Detective Brian Trotta suffered a gunshot wound to his knee on Dec. 29 when a man -- suspected to be 21-year-old Christopher Smith -- shot at him in Clifton Heights.
Smith was later caught hiding under a car on a nearby street, and he's been charged with two counts of attempted aggravated murder of a police officer.
FOP Members 'Concerned'
Kathy Harrell, the newly elected president of the police union, said officers are always aware of the dangers they can encounter on the job, but the recent string of shootings is nonetheless disturbing.
"Our members are very upset," she said. "They're very concerned. Their families are concerned."
New police recruits go through real-life scenarios to get them ready for what they'll deal with on the streets.
"Their training is designed to prepare them to engage in an incident like this and surviving an incident like this, and not becoming a plaque on the wall," Streicher said.
The latest recruit class has already seen video of the early-morning shootout and was reminded that in less than two months, they could find themselves in the same situation.
"If you're shot, you need to continue to make sure that you protect yourself, because if you don't, you're going to be dead," Harrell said.
Mayor: Shooters 'Don't Have Respect For Anybody'
Mayor Mark Mallory said the police department needs citizens' help in curbing the escalation of violent crime in the city.
"I keep saying to the community that we have got to have a community that won't tolerate crime," he said. "We got to have a community that turns in people they know are criminals, they know are involved in criminal activity. We can't stand for the kind of activity we saw last night with our Cincinnati police officers. We just can't stand for it."
Mallory said it's an all-or-nothing proposition for citizens -- either you're a partner in solving crime, or part of the problem, standing by and doing nothing.
"I think a larger issue is the amount of self-control people have today, the respect people have for people in the community," Mallory said. "When somebody pulls out a gun and starts shooting at a Cincinnati police officer, I have got to say they don't have respect for anybody."