ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich. – Police have released recordings of the 911 calls from neighbors and witnesses during the fireworks dispute, shooting and 30-hour standoff between a heavily armed man and police officers in St. Clair Shores.
Neighbors said Tom Ihlendfeldt, 58, got angry that his neighbors were shooting off fireworks around 10 p.m. on the Fourth of July in the area of Saint Margaret and East 13 Mile roads.
Officers were called to the area when Ihlendfeldt fired shots outside his home, injuring a 62-year-old woman and a teenage girl, according to authorities.
St. Clair Shores police surrounded his home and tried to deploy gas to smoke him out. Michigan State Police Bomb Squad members used robots to get into the house and identify his location. A SWAT team smashed through his home using an armored vehicle. Firefighters pumped water into his basement, hoping to flood him out.
None of those attempts ended the standoff, police said. SWAT officers finally got inside the home around 2:30 a.m. Saturday and realized Ihlendfeldt had killed himself.
Carol Baur, 60, was also found dead inside Ihlendfeldt's home. She had been shot multiple times, officials said.
WARNING: There is violent and explicit language in the recordings below.
You can listen to the 911 calls below.
Neighbor -- 10:05 p.m. Thursday
The first call came from Ihlendfeldt's neighbor, according to the caller.
"We're at my neighbor's," she said. "He's already threatened to shoot me with a .44 gun."
"What city are you in?" the dispatcher asked.
"I'm in St. Clair Shores," the caller said.
"And who is your neighbor?" the dispatcher asked.
"I don't know," she said. "I've had several complaints with him."
She told the dispatcher she was outside trying to light fireworks with her children and Ihlendfeldt was aiming a laser at them.
"Did you see the gun?" the dispatcher asked.
"No I didn't," she said.
"OK so he just said he had one?" the dispatcher asked.
"Yeah, he said, 'I've got a .44 and you're gonna feel it,'" she said.
"OK, just bear with me one second, OK?" the dispatcher said.
The woman then became panicked and started yelling that Ihlendfeldt had returned with a gun.
"He's got a gun," she said. "He's going after my brother. No, he's following my brother. He fired the gun. He fired his m------------ gun. This man is shooting a gun at my brother."
"Stay on the phone with me," the dispatcher said.
"He just shot my f------ door," the woman said. "Get here now. You need to get here. now. ... This man is shooting and I have a thousand kids here. My mama's bleeding. ... He's a dead f------ man. He's a dead f------ man. He's dead. You f------ hear me? You'd better get here now. You'd better get here now. I'm not playing. I'm not f------ playing."
"I'm talking to the police, ma'am," the dispatcher said.
"I'm not leaving my brother outside," the woman said. "Y'all better get here."
"They're driving as fast as they can, ma'am," the dispatcher said.
"I swear to God, 'cause I got 15 m------------ on their way over here and he's a dead man," the woman said. "He's dead. He's f------ dead."
"I don't want you to -- OK, just stay inside your house," the dispatcher said.
"I was just calling y'all and telling y'all this man has been harassing me for f------ years," the woman said. "Now this m----------- going to fire a gun in my house ... he's a dead m-----------. I swear on my everything, he's dead. Y'all better get here."
"Where is he at now?" the dispatcher asked.
"He went back in his house," the caller said. "He walked on my yard and shot at my f------ house."
"OK, stay on the phone with me," the dispatcher said.
"That's OK, because my brother's going to beat y'all here," she said.
"Has anybody there been shot or hurt?" the dispatcher asked.
"No," the caller said. "But there's about to be a dead m----------- on this block."
"OK, just so you know you're making threats over a recorded line," the dispatcher said.
"I am," she said. "I am. Yes, I am, sir, because I've been complaining for over a f------ year about this man. A f------ year. Y'all always say, 'He has a mental issue. There's nothing we can do. There's nothing we can do.' Well now, it's something (indiscernible)."
"I understand," the dispatcher said. "You said he shot your door?"
"He shot my f------ window out," she said. "Yes, he shot my f------ window out."
"When the police are there I want you to go talk to them, OK?" the dispatcher said.
"Oh no, he's dead," the woman said. "He's dead. Yes, he shot my f------ window out."
"Are you talking to the police now, ma'am?" the dispatcher asked.
"No, I'm talking to my brother," she said. "Can you send a paramedic? Somebody's been shot."
"Somebody's been shot?" the dispatcher asked. "Who's been shot?"
"Somebody's shot in their arm," the woman said. "Please give me a paramedic."
The woman can be heard trying to figure out how many people were shot.
"My mother got shot in the leg," she said.
"Your mother's been shot in the leg?" the dispatcher asked. "Who's the other person's that's been shot?"
"She's an 11-year-old girl," she said.
"Where is she shot at?" the dispatcher asked.
"In her arm," the woman said.
Witness -- 10:08 p.m. Thursday
"I don't know the address," the caller said. "We're on Saint Margaret. A guy's shooting at us."
"He's shooting at you?" the dispatcher asked.
"Yes, hurry up," the caller said.
"OK, we already have officers on the way," the dispatcher said. "What does he look like?"
"He's a white male, older male," the caller said. "He just went back in his house."
"What house did he go into?" the dispatcher said.
"I can't see the address, ma'am," the caller said. "I can't walk over there because he's shooting at us."
Neighbor -- 10:08 p.m. Thursday
Heavy breathing can be heard over the phone as it rings.
When the 911 dispatcher answered, a woman screamed that she needed someone sent to the area immediately.
"This man is shooting at my house," she said. "You need to get here now. This man is f------ shooting at my house."
"OK, are you inside?" the dispatcher asked.
"Yes, we're all inside," she said. "There are six kids in this house."
Some of her words are difficult to make out, but she gave her address to the dispatcher and asked them to "please get here now."
"I need you to take a deep breath, OK?" the dispatcher said. "I need you to stay calm."
The woman continued to yell while on the phone, but the dispatcher told her officers were on the way.
Witness -- 10:49 p.m. Thursday
"I'm on Saint Margaret Street where the shooting just happened," a man told the 911 dispatcher. "I've been trying to call the dispatch for St. Clair Shores to let them know that the guy did the shooting has a nice armory in the basement. I know him personally. He's a whack job. I cannot get through to anybody. It took almost 40 rings to get to you."
"I understand," the dispatcher said. "We are getting flooded with calls in regards this right now. We are getting things situated for this, OK? We will update them, OK?"
"Yeah, let them know that he ran into the side toward the van," the caller said. "I don't know if he made it in the house, but I just -- I pulled up in the driveway to my mother's house and I watched him do the shooting. But he has riot guns, M-16s, ARs, AKs and, from what my other buddy just told me, he just went out to Elkton and picked up 100,000 rounds, so I don't know what he's doing, but I'm directly across."
"Alright, we are going to get help on the way, OK?" the dispatcher said.
There three 911 calls below were also recorded, however the callers didn't answer when the dispatchers picked up the phone.
Apparent witness -- 10:07 p.m. Thursday
As the phone was ringing, a woman can be heard in the background yelling, "He's shooting again."
When the dispatcher picked up, the caller didn't answer.
Apparent witness -- 10:08 p.m. Thursday
A woman and a man can be heard yelling while the phone rings.
"It's OK," the woman yelled. "Put a towel over her."
When the 911 dispatcher picked up, the caller didn't respond.
Full coverage throughout standoff
6 a.m. Friday
6:30 a.m. Friday
6:50 a.m. Friday
Noon Friday
4 p.m. Friday
5 p.m. Friday
6 p.m. Friday
11 p.m. Friday
6 a.m. Saturday
7 a.m. Saturday
6 p.m. Saturday
5 p.m. Monday
5 p.m. Tuesday