Frightening video shows a suspect threatening to “shoot” cops as he tries to flee through an Ohio day care — knocking over a terrified child before he’s finally cornered and tased.
The alarming footage released Wednesday shows an officer screaming “Get your hands up” as the suspect — identified by local media as Lamar Mitchell — races into Precious Times Child Care and Preschool in Warren.
As the officer yanks open the back door to chase after Mitchell, the footage captures him saying he was “gonna shoot” — holding his hand outside the door to mimic holding a gun.
The officer immediately tries to tase Mitchell, 39, who manages to flee down a hall and into a room as the children and staff immediately start crying out in terror.
He then uses a chair to help leap into a large playpen, falling as he’s tased — and knocking over a child at his feet when he lands and tumbles face first.
“Get the kids, please — get the kids!” one of the officers urgently pleads, with a staffer repeatedly crying, “Oh my God!” as she dashes in to scoop up the crying youngster.
As a trio of officers piles on Mitchell, cuffing him inside the playpen, day care staff rush to try to carry out other crying kids who were just feet from the tased suspect.
One cop says the suspect “threw a gun,” shouting at him: “You wanna point your finger at me? Screw you!”
The police department said the footage caught only the end of a dangerous pursuit sparked by an officer spotting the suspect wanted for felonious assault.
“The pursuit ended when the suspect crashed into a vehicle,” the Warren force said.
After he “forced his way through a rear door of the day care center … the suspect raised his hand towards the officers and threatened to ‘shoot’ them,” the force stressed, noting how there were “several young children” in the classroom where he was finally cornered.
Mitchell was hit with 13 extra charges along with the initial one for felonious assault, including aggravated burglary, failure to comply, and multiple counts of aggravated menacing and traffic offenses.
He has been arrested numerous times, including for burglary, assaults, menacing, parole violations, domestic violence, arson, and firing a weapon “at habitat or school,” the records show.
He remains in custody after a preliminary hearing Thursday.