"A very regrettable situation," Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGrath said.

After a 25-minute high-speed chase ends in East Cleveland, Ohio, neighboring cities are buzzing with the news that a man and woman were chased to their deaths.  Perhaps unnecessarily.

There was some confusion about whether Melissa Williams, 30, and the driver Timothy Russell, 43, had a weapon.  There was confusion about whether the weapon was used against police.  Initial news reports revealed that while no gun was found in the suspects’ car, shell casings were.  Except that account turned out to be only half true. East Cleveland Chief of Police Ralph Spotts confirmed that the suspects had no gun and no shell casings were found in the vehicle either.

Nevertheless, the African American couple was chased to their deaths Thursday night by 13 police officers firing 137 shots.  According to police dash cam audio of the chase, “the gun” in Timothy Russell’s hand may have been a pop can or some other beverage.

“A tragedy, not just for the community, but for the police department,” Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGrath said.  “This is really with a heavy heart.  I can’t tell you how much this hurts.”

A WEWS NewsChannel5 photographer, who was on a scheduled ride-along with police, said there were dozens of bullet holes in the suspects’ car and the windshield of a police car. However, McGrath said those shots could have been friendly fire.

The victims’ bodies and faces, pelted with bullets, were said to be mangled and unrecognizable.  Distraught family members of the deceased have lawyered up.

Although victims Melissa Williams and Timothy Russell had histories spotted with criminal activity, the African American community believes that their deaths may have been a case of “police murder” and that the brutality was racially motivated.  Vigils to remember the victims and protests against excessive police force have already begun.