ROMULUS (WWJ) - A man who allegedly held a child hostage and shot at police in metro Detroit more than a year-and-a-half ago is facing nearly two-dozen felony count.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced Tuesday she has charged 33-year-old Chad Alexander Smith in an attempted carjacking, killing of a dog, police shootout, hostage situation and standoff in Romulus.
It is alleged that on August 3, 2018, Smith tried and failed to carjack a Romulus resident on Lisa Street, in the area of Wayne Rd. and Wick, north of I-94. After that, prosecutors say, Smith jumped a fence into the backyard of a home on Wick Rd., encountered a dog and fatally shot it.
Police arrived and a shootout ensued.
"Law enforcement engaged him; there was gunshots fired back and forth between Romulus Police Department (officers) and the suspect," according to Michigan State First Lt. Shaw. "After shots were fired he ducked into a house, that's about three doors away from the initial shooting."
Neighbors were told to stay inside and lock their doors as the Western Wayne SWAT Team surrounded the house. That's when police told WWJ it was learned that were two children inside with the gunman.
Smith was injured in the shootout, according to authorities, and while inside the home he took a 7-year-old boy hostage. After an hours-long standoff, he surrendered to police. That child, and another that was briefly inside with the gunman, were released unharmed.
"We are very grateful that the young child was physically unharmed as a result of this incident," Worthy said, in a statement. "The fact remains, however, that Mr. Smith must face the serious criminal consequences of his alleged actions."
Michigan Department of Corrections records show Smith's criminal record includes convictions for armed and unarmed robbery, plus drug and weapons charges dating back to 2005.