Cleveland police arrest two 17-year-olds in fatal shooting of Ukrainian refugee Lyft driver Vasyl Shvets

Arrests announced nearly a week after East 84th Street killing

Cleveland police said two 17-year-old boys were taken into custody Monday, Feb. 16, in connection with the fatal shooting of Vasyl Shvets, a 27-year-old Lyft driver and Ukrainian refugee who was found shot inside his vehicle on the city’s East Side.

Police have not released the teenagers’ names or the specific charges they may face. Officers also recovered two firearms during the arrests, police said. The suspects were taken into custody at a location on Cleveland’s East Side.

What investigators say happened

Shvets was working as a late-night Lyft driver on Feb. 10 when he was shot while inside his car, police said. Officers found him on East 84th Street, wounded in the torso and slumped over the steering wheel.

Investigators said early evidence suggested the ride had been ordered from Arizona, an initial lead that required coordination beyond Ohio. Detectives later traced the suspects back to Cleveland.

“This senseless homicide brought uncalled-for suffering to the family of Mr. Shvets, and our hearts go out to the family,” Cleveland Police Chief Dorothy Annie Todd said in a statement, adding that the department’s homicide unit worked “locally and out of state” to identify and arrest the suspects.

Two Lyft drivers killed in a short period; police say cases are separate

Shvets’ death occurred amid a rare and alarming cluster of violence involving rideshare drivers in Cleveland. Police have said Shvets was the second of two Lyft drivers killed in roughly 36 hours, and that arrests have now been made in both investigations.

In the earlier case, Cleveland police announced the arrest of a 20-year-old Garfield Heights man, Derrick Dove, who was charged with aggravated murder in the fatal shooting of Lyft driver Antoine Latham, 56.

Community response and what remains unknown

Friends and members of Cleveland’s Ukrainian community have described Shvets as a hardworking young man who came to Northeast Ohio after fleeing the war in Ukraine and was building a future with his fiancée. A fundraiser was organized to help cover funeral expenses, including plans to return his body to Ukraine.

As of Feb. 16, police have not publicly detailed a suspected motive, whether the killing stemmed from an attempted robbery or other encounter, or how the recovered firearms may be tied to the shooting. The case remains under investigation.

• Victim: Vasyl Shvets, 27, Lyft driver and Ukrainian refugee
• Crime date: Feb. 10, 2026
• Arrests: Two 17-year-old boys, taken into custody Feb. 16, 2026
• Evidence seized: Two firearms, police said