WARREN, Mich. (WXYZ) — There were tense moments in a normally quiet Warren neighborhood as armored trucks and officers in tactical gear responded after shots were fired.
The suspect eventually surrendered and no one was injured, but police say he was under the influence and suffered from mental illness. He had access to multiple firearms in his home, creating a dangerous situation.
“Numerous cop cars driving over the sidewalks, being on the sidewalk, they blocked off all the street,” neighbor Debora Schneidt said.
The first call came around 3:12 p.m. from a family member not on scene who was concerned about the 41-year-old man, who may have been suicidal. He was alone inside his home on Joanne Avenue and as police responded, they heard four to fiive shots go off inside.
“It was sad," next-door neighbor Raymond Matijow said. "I knew the guy and I didn’t know he was like that. Didn't know he even owned a gun.”
While police were calling in tactical units and taking cover behind Matijow's home, he was down the street waiting for the all-clear and hoping his neighbor would be OK.
“We were good neighbors, good friends," Matijow said. "I didn't know him that well, but he seemed like a good guy, never to do something like this though.”
As negotiators talked to the suspect for over an hour, they brought in an armored vehicle and even deployed a robot to approach the home. Police say the man had been drinking and is believed to have documented mental health struggles.
“It’s one of those situations you pray no one is seriously injured or killed,” Warren Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer said.
A nearby elementary school was also placed on lock down as the scene spread down the street. At roughly 5:12p.m., negotiators got the man to surrender. He was pulled out the back door and later taken to the hospital for a mental evaluation.
"Every one of these school shootings we've had, mass shootings we've had, barricaded gunman, it’s related to mental illness," Dwyer said. "That should be the No. 1 priority for our legislators.”
“I'm just glad he’s going to be OK," Matijow said. "I hope to see him again.”
Warren police say they did recover several weapons inside the home including a rifle and multiple handguns. All of them were legally purchased.
