HIGHLAND TOWNSHIP (WWJ) – Two people are dead, including a suspect who was shot by Oakland County Sheriff’s deputies late Wednesday morning in Highland Township after breaking into his in-laws’ condo.
Sheriff Mike Bouchard says a 42-year-old Dearborn Heights man was shot and killed after breaking into the condo on Delmar Court near Milford Road and M-59 around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Police responded to the scene after getting a frantic 9-1-1 call from the suspect’s 37-year-old wife after he broke in, according to a press release. Bouchard told reporters during a press conference police received a 9-1-1 call from an 8-year-old who didn't live at the condo and didn't know the address.
Bouchard said the call from the child dropped multiple times, but authorities were able to arrive at the scene within minutes.
Authorities say the suspect smashed through a sliding glass door to get inside.
The investigation shows the gunman’s wife had recently told him she wanted a divorce and she and her kids had moved in with her parents at a condo near the entrance of Prestwick Village Golf Club.
At some point after breaking into the condo, Bouchard says the suspect shot and killed his wife’s 69-year-old father, a former Marine who was apparently trying retrieve a gun at the time. There was another struggle and the wife was shot.
Her mother, 70, was also injured in the incident. Their conditions were not immediately clear, though Bouchard said during a Wednesday afternoon press conference he believed one of them was going into surgery and they were not believed to be life-threatening injuries.
Three young children, ages 8,4 and 1, were in the home at the time of the incident. Two of them belonged to the couple, while the third was a cousin. The kids weren't physically hurt. The cousin was returned home, and the two other children are staying with other relatives, according to the sheriff’s office.
Bouchard said during a press conference the suspect confronted deputies as they came up the stairs, while the man was on top of his wife, beating her. He said the deputies told the suspect to drop his weapon, but he refused.
“They confronted him at the top of the stairs and that’s where our deputies fired,” Bouchard said, noting it appears one deputy fired two shots and the other fired four.
The weapon the suspect used in the shooting, a 9 mm Springfield Hellcat pistol, was registered to the gunman’s wife. It was recovered. It was not immediately clear how many shots were fired.
The gunman had multiple contacts with law enforcement, including drug and felonious assault convictions. Police were also summoned to the home in Dearborn Heights on complaints of family trouble, larceny, domestic violence, and malicious destruction of property.
Authorities are expected to be on-scene for much of Wednesday as they process the scene and continue to investigate.
This is a developing story. Stay tuned to WWJ LIVE for the latest updates. >>> LISTEN LIVE!
Related
