Authorities Continue Search For Suspect After He Allegedly Shot At Them During Pursuit

Law enforcement is still search for a man troopers said shot at them during a chase early Friday morning.

The chase started on Interstate 240 and ended in an apartment complex’s front lawn. The man who lives in the unit said the car stopped just short of hit front door.

"The tire ended right there," resident Melvin Wilkerson said, as he pointed to where his front patio ends.

Wilkerson’s son heard the car crash into their yard and woke him up to check on the people in the car. He didn’t know how the white sedan ended up there.

"I opened up the door, I come out and (the) passenger door was opened up,” Wilkerson said. “I looked in there and didn't (sic) see nobody in. Just a couple of minutes later, the cops show up.”

The car had been on the run from troopers after they said the driver, Gabriel Yeatman, got onto I-240 headed the wrong way.

Troopers drove toward Yeatman to cut him off. Two of them purposely used their vehicles to stop him.

One trooper hit Yeatman head on, but he still drove away. After the maneuver, OHP said Yeatman shot at them.

A man and woman, who stayed in a nearby motel, heard it all.

"It was just loud. Boom, boom, boom, boom,” the man said.

“We thought it was in the motel parking lot. I was getting my kids out and we heard six shots, so we got scared,” the woman said.

Troopers zeroed in on the area where the car crashed by Southwest 77th Terrace and Blackwelder Avenue. Investigators also said the car was stolen.

The passenger remained at the crash scene and cooperated with police. Court records said Yeatman had a warrant after he failed to appear in court for previously fleeing and auto theft charges. That chase happened in 2021 in the same part of the city.

"I still don't feel safe leaving my son here when I go to work until he's caught because it's right here,” Wilkerson said. “Apparently, this guy may know the neighborhood to get away like he did.”

The trooper Yeatman crashed into head-on will be OK. Police believe Yeatman is armed and dangerous.