DETROIT – A man arrested in connection with the shooting of two officers on the city's west side did not confess to killing Sgt. Collin Rose, Detroit police Chief James Craig said Thursday.
"There was no confession made," Craig said. "I am not saying this suspect is the same suspect in the Collin Rose murder."
The 60-year-old man was taken into custody Wednesday night after an hourslong manhunt involving dozens of officers from the Detroit Police Department and other agencies. Craig said the man fired at the officers near Tillman and Ash streets.
"He was aggressively trying to kill our officers," Craig said Thursday.
The chief said officers from the 3rd Precinct were investigating a significant increase in non-fatal shootings in the area when the man shot at them. Craig said the man was unprovoked when he fired several rounds at the officers. A motive is unclear, he said.
"We know that the suspect armed himself, fired several shots, striking both officers, unprovoked," he said.
The chief said that when the man was finally taken into custody, he was still trying to attack his officers.
"In a second attempt, he tried to attack these (arresting) officers," Craig said.
Both officers are in stable condition at Detroit Receiving Hospital. One of them was shot in the neck and the other was shot in the leg. The man accused of shooting them suffered injuries from the officers' return fire. He is hospitalized and is expected to survive.
Craig said the man is not considered a suspect in Wayne State University police Sgt. Collin Rose's death, denying reports Thursday morning that a confession had been made.
The man used a .38-caliber handgun in the attack, the chief said. He does not have a history of violence, just property crimes, according to Detroit police.
A family member said the man suffers from schizophrenia. Craig said he could not comment on the man's mental illness history.
Watch Craig's full Thursday morning news conference here: