VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A shooter who barricaded himself in a Van Buren Township mobile home Sunday following a non fatal shooting is also believed to be involved in a homicide that occurred days prior.
At around 12:15 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 6, police received reports of several gunshots fired at the Van Buren Estates mobile home park. The shooter reportedly fired at a man and his dog, who were both injured, before fleeing into a home and barricading himself.
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Officials said officers were on the scene “within seconds” of the reports and quickly identified the home that the shooter barricaded himself in -- which allegedly belongs to the shooter’s mother. Van Buren police said they had been patrolling that area since Friday, when a fatal shooting occurred near the Van Buren Estates.
Authorities had surrounded the mobile home on Sunday after the shooter refused to leave. The shooter surrendered to officers and was taken into custody after over an hour of negotiations, officials said.
Residents were told to shelter in place while the shooter was barricaded. The shelter-in-place order was lifted at around 1:33 p.m.
It is believed the shooter, whose identity has not yet been revealed, is responsible for a separate fatal shooting that took place near the mobile home park on Friday, Aug. 4. Officials said officers located a body in a field just north of the residential park on Friday afternoon.
“We’re still trying to determine if this was random, if this was targeted, what the motive is, why this happened,” said Van Buren Township deputy police Chief Joshua Monte. “We’re still real young in the investigation, we have multiple scenes going on right now.”
Police said Sunday that detectives were “actively executing search warrants, processing multiple scenes, and gathering evidence.”
The man who was shot on Sunday was hospitalized, though it’s unclear what his exact injuries are. The dog was grazed by a bullet, and was taken to a local animal shelter for treatment, officials said.
The shooter is being held at the Van Buren Township Police Department. Official charges were pending as of Sunday.