Taylor Gunman Surrenders After 'Very Volatile' 15-Hour Standoff With Police
TAYLOR (WWJ) - A gunman was barricaded inside a Downriver home surrendered peacefully after a 15-hour standoff with police.
Police responded to a home in the 25000 block of Wick, between Telegraph and Beech Daly roads in Taylor, around 11 p.m. Wednesday, and arrived to find a man in his 20s firing shots, including at officers.
"He walked out to pursue into our officers' commands with his hands open and he was unarmed and followed our commands and we were able to take him into custody without incident," Police Chief Mary Sclabassi said.
One shot reportedly hit an armored SWAT vehicle, although it doesn't appear anyone was injured in the gunfire.
"There's been some increasing neighbor problems between this individual and his neighbors," Sclabassi said. "There's been some threats, loud music -- that kind of thing. Nothing, unfortunately, we could act on at the time. For some reason last night it all came to a head and he began firing from his home."
Neighbors, like one man named Skeeter, said that they heard shots fired by police and the suspect throughout the night and morning. Skeeter said that he has met the suspect several times.
"He was a loner, he would walk down the street. I tried to give him a ride before and he'd just say 'no,'" Skeeter said. "I knew his dad, I knew his whole family -- they grew up there."
Sclabassi called the situation "very volatile," urging residents to stay inside their homes or completely avoid the area. Some neighbors were evacuated.
"There has been many hours of exchange of gunfire. The shooter has not been struck," Sclabassi told WWJ's Ron Dewey, earlier in the day. "We are currently negotiating with him right now, trying to get him to come out of there safely and bring a resolution to this."
Police and the gunman's family members worked together to get him to surrender. No one was hurt.
The situation might have stemmed over an ongoing dispute between the man and his neighbors.
"I know neighbors were calling due to some loud music and some other types of complaints," Sclabassi said. "As far as what spurred last night's shooting, we still don't know that yet."
Sclabassi said police had been called to the man's home over the past couple of days regarding the dispute, which was escalating, but they did not think it would reach the degree that it did.
Reports said the man suffers some sort of mental illness that might have affected his judgment.
"I can't speak to his mental state but whatever help he needs, our goal is to get that for him today," Sclabassi said before the man turned himself in.
The gunman's name was not immediately released.
