FERNDALE, Mich. (WXYZ) — An officer-involved shooting on E. Webster Avenue in Ferndale Tuesday has left a neighborhood on edge. One Wayne County sheriff's deputy was stabbed, another was wounded and the suspect was taken away on a stretcher after being shot.
The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office said they showed up at a home on E Webster just before 9 a.m. Tuesday after they were notified a 25-year-old suspect had cut off his tether.
They said after arriving, two deputies talked to the suspect through a window while another two deputies entered the home. They said it was clear the man was having a mental health crisis.
That’s when they say the suspect came at them with two knives.
James Martin lives just across the street and explained what happened next from his perspective.
“Sort of like a scuffle I guess. I heard a taser pop. And a few seconds later I heard a gunshot,” explained Martin.
He was out walking his dog Tuesday morning when he saw the whole scene unfold right in front of his house.
“They brought the person who was shot out on a stretcher. He was alive and covered in blood,” Martin said.
He said the suspect was making it clear he wasn’t well.
“I think he exactly said, ‘I’m mentally ill and they shot me,’” recalled Martin.
The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office said the deputies tried to tase the suspect, but it didn’t work. They said when he continued to come at them, they fired two shots hitting him in the arm and abdomen. One deputy was stabbed in the thigh, the other injured his hand in the ensuing scuffle.
Daniel Miller-Sanchez lives a few doors down and said it’s not the first time he’s seen law enforcement at the home.
“I just feel like the cops have been called there a couple times for what I think people said were just domestic disturbances,” said Miller-Sanchez.
Paul Jankowski also lives across the street. He reacted to the shooting.
“Very just out of the ordinary and shocking just a little bit,” he said.
Jankowski’s still trying to make sense of how to feel about the whole situation.
“Little concerned if I need to be on alert for like the neighborhood and what not,” he admitted.
The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office said both the deputy and suspect were in stable condition and are expected to be OK.
