A shooting Wednesday afternoon outside a busy Cedar Road shopping plaza in University Heights sent a man to the hospital after he was grazed by a bullet, forced organizers to cancel a major back-to-school donation drive, and left two people detained as investigators worked to determine what happened. The gunfire broke out in a parking lot near a Goodwill thrift store, and police say the investigation remains ongoing.
According to Cleveland 19 News, Chagrin Valley Dispatch received a call reporting shots fired in a parking lot near 13934 Cedar Road, and the University Heights Police Department confirmed the report in a release. Nearby law enforcement agencies assisted University Heights officers as they descended on the scene, which centered around the Goodwill store.
Officers Find Wounded Man, Two Detained at Scene
The wounded man was rushed into the Goodwill store for help after being struck, and he was later taken to a nearby hospital for further medical evaluation in stable condition, per the outlet's report. University Heights police officers detained two individuals at the scene, though it remains unclear whether either has been charged, an open question as investigators continue their work.
Shots were fired outside the store, a Goodwill employee told Cleveland 19 News. The gunfire also damaged three vehicles in the parking lot and a nearby house, though no other injuries were reported.
Police Chief Voices Relief as Investigation Continues
University Heights Police Chief Dustin Rogers said the department was thankful that no one was seriously injured in the shooting, and he added that he hoped the victim makes a full recovery. The department's detective bureau is asking anyone with additional information to call 216-932-1800, and as of the latest update, police say they have no further information to share.
Cedar Center South: The Retail Hub Where Gunfire Erupted
The shooting unfolded at Cedar Center South, a 138,881-square-foot commercial plaza at Cedar and Warrensville Center roads that houses both the Goodwill thrift store and a Dollar Tree, according to FNRP USA. Dollar Bank, at 2200 Warrensville Center Road, sits directly adjacent to the retail complex and became the backup collection point once the shooting shut down the original site.
Charity Drive Pivots to Keep Donations Flowing
Organizers behind Operation Backpack, which is hosted by Cleveland 19 News and local partners, stopped accepting in-person donations in University Heights following the shooting, though online giving remained open. Would-be donors were instead directed to drop off backpacks and school supplies at the nearby bank.
According to Volunteers of America Ohio & Indiana, the donation event was scheduled to resume Thursday at Step Forward Head Start in Bedford Heights. The charity has partnered with Cleveland 19 News for more than 12 years on Operation Backpack, distributing school-supply kits to thousands of homeless and low-income students across Northeast Ohio each year, per Morning Journal.
Cedar Road's Troubled History Despite Falling Crime Rates
Wednesday's shooting is not the corridor's first brush with gun violence. In November 2021, a 28-year-old customer was shot during an early-morning robbery in the parking lot of a nearby Speedway gas station, as reported by WKYC. The University Heights Police Department, which fields 29 certified officers for a city of roughly 13,000 residents, per the Ohio Department of Public Safety, is leading the current investigation.
The incident comes despite city leaders reporting in March 2025 that University Heights saw year-over-year drops in several crime categories during 2024, including violent assault, vandalism, and theft, according to the Heights Observer. Under the Ohio Revised Code, discharging a firearm in a public commercial lot that causes property damage or injury can lead to felony charges such as felonious assault or inducing panic, though any misdemeanor filings tied to the arrests would land in the Shaker Heights Municipal Court, which handles cases from University Heights police actions.
The shooting is the latest violent incident to rattle the area, following a Bedford Heights freeway shooting chase just over a week earlier. It also lands amid a wave of commercial change along Cedar Road, where Hoodline has previously reported on an incoming Aldi store and the closure of longtime Jack's Deli.
