UPDATE 7/10: https://go.audacy.com/lVmeatwITUb
Warren police say Rakim Wright was shot at, but not shot by officers — and that he in fact died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police released video to counter what they call false claims spreading online and in some media reports. WWJ’s Tim Pamplin reports.
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DETROIT (WWJ) -- A man is dead after a shootout with Warren police officers, early Tuesday morning.
Police say the suspect fired several shots at officers who tracked the man, who was wanted in connection with a domestic violence incident, down to a neighborhood near Castle Avenue and Montlieu Street on Detroit's northeast side.
In a statement, Warren police say the preliminary investigation showed the man who was shot was involved in a domestic incident at a home in the 13000 block of Prospect Ave., just after 3 a.m. The victim told police her boyfriend had assaulted and strangled her before trying to light part of the home on fire. The suspect took off before officers arrived.
As part of the investigation, police went to the area of McNichols and Van Dyke in Detroit and spotted the suspect, who drove away from police.
It's alleged, police said, that the man fired shots at officers during the chase. At some point the man got out of his car and took off running, while continuing to fire shots at the cops, according to police.
Officers returned fire and the man was found a short time later with a gunshot wound to his head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Relatives of the suspect dispute what police are saying.
The man's aunt, who said her name was Tanisha, said he didn't have a gun. "He got shot 14 times, he got out of the car with his hands up and they shot him, in front of his mom's house, he's the only child she has" she told WWJ's Charlie Langton. "He is a good person."
When told that police say her nephew was shooting at officers, another aunt Katrina Wright told Langton police are lying. "I believe that's a lie, that's a lie, he's not even that type of person, at all, at all, at all, he's an innocent person, I promise you," she said.
The investigation is ongoing.