3 women, suspect dead; 3 officers wounded in 14-hour Detroit standoff

DETROIT -- Police say a 14-hour standoff in Detroit has ended with the deaths of three women and the suspected gunman. Three officers were wounded.

Michigan State Police Lt. Michael Shaw said his officers used a robot Monday to enter a home and confirm the gunman and third female victim were dead from gunshot wounds.

Detroit police say the standoff began around 10:30 Sunday night in the house on the city's east side after two women were fatally shot during an apparent argument.

An off-duty Detroit Public Schools officer, who CBS Detroit reports is the husband of one of the victims, called 911. The off-duty officer had been shot and wounded, said Detroit Police Chief James Craig.

When police officers responded, they were "pinned" by gunfire for an hour by the suspect inside the home, who had a rifle, Craig said. Two of the responding officers were also shot and wounded.

Craig said officers didn't return fire because they couldn't at first hone in on where the gunfire was originating. Backup arrived, including Michigan State Police and the Detroit police departments' special response teams, and with the help of an armored vehicle they rescued the nine officers pinned by gunfire, including those wounded, and removed the bodies of the deceased, Craig said.

The gunman told police he "won't go down without a fight," Craig said.

"He clearly expressed an intention to do harm. He clearly expressed an intention to hurt people," Craig said.

As Craig spoke during a Monday morning news conference, authorities had not yet breached the home but were using a robot to determine what was going on inside. At the time officers feared a third woman was inside the home, also possibly deceased, Craig said. He confirmed that the suspected gunman's girlfriend was missing and that the two other victims were her relatives.

Officer hadn't seen movement inside since around 2 a.m., after they had deployed a third round of gas into the home, Craig said.

Craig said the off-duty schools officer and the two Detroit police officers who were wounded suffered minor injuries and are expected to recover.

CBS Detroit identified the deceased suspect as 49-year-old Lance Smith. Authorities state Smith had no criminal history and had not had contact with police. He also had seven guns registered under his name as a Michigan concealed pistol license holder.