Michigan State Police shoot, kill armed suspect in Detroit

DETROIT – Michigan State Police shot and killed a man who was armed in Detroit.

The incident occurred Tuesday (Jan. 24) at 7:30 p.m. in the 12857 block of Terry Street in Detroit.

“The thing that really concerned us was after we got inside of the home, we found a lot of ammunition and the guns,” said Michigan State Police Lt. Michael Shaw.

The Detroit Regional Communication Center was notified by troopers on patrol in Detroit that a green laser was hitting them.

“Yeah, he’s shooting at us right now,” said MSP of the scanner.

“As they’re walking up on foot, they saw a second laser go off towards the helicopter, and at that time, they heard gunfire,” Shaw said.

Police say the suspect was shining the laser from the second story of the home when moments later, they realized they were being shot at from the same location.

“First, I heard the helicopter swarming around, and then I heard four gunshots,” said Christopher Taylor.

Taylor lives nearby the scene and says after a few minutes, he heard more gunshots.

Troopers from the Metro South Post responded and approached the home on foot when the suspect came out of the house and started firing, so officers returned fire and killed the suspect, police say.

Once inside, MSP was alarmed to see not just ammo and guns but what looked to be planning and preparation for what investigators are still working to find out.

“He had a rifle staged at one of the windows as if this was some type of ambush that he had set up,” Shaw said.

You can only imagine what could have happened had the suspect made it back inside, and for anyone wondering why pointing a laser at a helicopter is such a big deal, it is because, as small as it is, that laser can blind the pilot and cause a crash.