Off-duty officer shot and killed in Detroit after firing shots at two officers

One of the officers returned fire, killing him.

Detroit police responded to a 911 call about a suicide attempt that occurred just before 2:30 p.m. at the intersection of East Davison Street and St. Aubin Street, near the Highland Park water tower. There, officers encountered a 45-year-old man in a police uniform with a high-powered rifle and the sounds of gunfire, Detroit Police Chief James White said at a news conference at the scene Monday evening.

Responding officers took cover behind their vehicle. The off-duty officer then fired multiple times at the vehicle and the officers, White said. One officer was injured in the leg and another officer was injured in the thigh. An officer returned fire and killed the colleague.

“It’s a terrible day,” White said, surrounded by a group of officials and Mayor Mike Duggan. But “the officers who responded were heroes. When they realized it was one of our own members, they still had to do their job and make sure everyone else was safe.”