Car bombing suspect shot by police after chase ends with crash into house
A Michigan State Police car sits near the spot where police Tuesday morning fatally shot a suspect after he crashed a truck (visible in the background) into a home near Six Mile and Dixboro roads in Salem Township.
John Counts | AnnArbor.com
- Updated article: Police: Suspect shot and killed after charging troopers with knife
Editor's note: Updated information from police now indicates there was no car bombing.
An area of northeast Washtenaw County was closed to traffic just after 3 a.m. Tuesday after a dramatic police incident ended there when state police troopers shot a car-bombing suspect.
The Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office said the area of Dixboro Road between Pontiac Trail and Six Mile Road in Salem Township was closed to traffic Tuesday morning as police investigated the crime scene.
Reports on WDIV-TV said the incident started in Northville Township when police stopped a suspicious vehicle just before a nearby vehicle blew up.
The driver then led police on a chase, crashing into a house in Salem Township. After the crash, the suspect was fatally shot by Michigan State Police.
A report on WXYZ-TV says the chase started at Six Mile and Napier roads. The Detroit News reports that Northville police initiated the traffic stop.
Various reports say the suspect threatened police with a weapon before he was shot. However, the weapon has been described as both a gun and knife.
Three people were in the home when the vehicle crashed into it, according to the Associated Press.
Further details were not released early Tuesday. This story will continue to be updated.
View Car Bombing Chase in a larger map
Comments
Tru2Blu76
Tue, Feb 12, 2013 : 11:05 p.m.
I would like to know the name of the reporter who originally reported that this incident began with a car bombing. Who is the source of that erroneous information? If it came from law enforcement, then that source should also be identified. I think issuing such misinformation is worthy of disciplinary action, no matter who it was. I'm a little ashamed to admit that, at first, I joined in the joking about that young man's series of very bad decisions and actions. But then I started wondering: what was he like in Kindergarten, in 6th grade, as a high school senior? What must his family be feeling right now? Dying in the dark alone by an icy road isn't exactly what we wish for our youth.
Tru2Blu76
Tue, Feb 12, 2013 : 3:44 p.m.
From the photo; one would think painting that house "Safety Orange" might have alerted the fleeing suspect to the fact that the house was in his way. But then, we have to take into account that the suspect thought covering his license plate was a good way to evade detection AND he apparently thought (according to both the WDIV & WXYZ reports) arming himself with a knife would get him through any "interference by police." I suppose that, if he survived, he'd now be reminding himself not to linger near any car bombs he intended to go off soon. Clearly, investigation will confirm this guy failed to graduate from car-bombing school.
yourdad
Tue, Feb 12, 2013 : 2:18 p.m.
for actual reporting style information... http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/Suspect-shot-dead-by-Michigan-State-Police-after-car-bombing-chase/-/1719418/18507836/-/dut5ktz/-/index.html Sounds like this was an act of anger more than business.
hail2thevict0r
Tue, Feb 12, 2013 : 2:04 p.m.
I want to know what they mean by "car bombing"? Are we talking like Iraq or like, I lit this car on fire and ran away.
Billy
Tue, Feb 12, 2013 : 1:39 p.m.
This is crazy....sounds like the cops interrupted someone in the middle of something nefarious.
RN217
Tue, Feb 12, 2013 : 9:56 p.m.
I love that you used the word "nefarious". Word of the day...
LaMusica
Tue, Feb 12, 2013 : 1:31 p.m.
Are the 3 people inside the home alright?
EyeHeartA2
Tue, Feb 12, 2013 : 1:25 p.m.
According to WDIV, the suspect brought a knife to a gun fight and the cop dropped him like a bad habit. Per the description, here is a re-enactment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DzcOCyHDqc
Brad
Tue, Feb 12, 2013 : 1:53 p.m.
They aren't saying that he allegedly had a knife?
Paula Gardner
Tue, Feb 12, 2013 : 1:28 p.m.
AP is now also saying that the suspect had a knife.
MixedStock
Tue, Feb 12, 2013 : 12:51 p.m.
Just checked the link to WDIV-TV and that answered all of my questions.
Paula Gardner
Tue, Feb 12, 2013 : 1:28 p.m.
The station did a good job reporting it. They had the first photos from the scene that I could find this morning.
MixedStock
Tue, Feb 12, 2013 : 12:46 p.m.
Was the house that the suspect crashed into on that stretch of Dixboro Road that was closed by the Washtenaw County Sheriff? I wouldn't pick that road for an escape route. It's dirt at that point and probably in horrible shape this time of year. Perhaps the suspect thought it was paved if he/she had turned north onto Dixboro from Pontiac Trail. Makes one wonder if the suspect was at all familiar with the area. A car bombing, here? Who would've thunk it?
Paula Gardner
Tue, Feb 12, 2013 : 12:41 p.m.
We hope to have more information from the scene soon.
Ann English
Tue, Feb 12, 2013 : 7:14 p.m.
On WAAM this morning shortly after 6 am, it was reported that. "Six Mile Road at Dixboro closed for a police inspection," in the traffic report. Shortly afterward, it was reported that a suspect crashed into a house due to ice on the road. But that was the only mention of an icy road contributing to this crash. Certainly the photo above gives the impression that the police car didn't have much control, either, on that surface.
Martha Cojelona Gratis
Tue, Feb 12, 2013 : 12:27 p.m.
Great job by our law enforcement
GoNavy
Tue, Feb 12, 2013 : 2:02 p.m.
The guy crashed into a house after fleeing and he was shot. I wouldn't call this deftly executed detective work.
Basic Bob
Tue, Feb 12, 2013 : 12:34 p.m.
I just hope they got the right guy and not a deadbeat dad or uninsured driver fleeing a warrant.
trespass
Tue, Feb 12, 2013 : 11:58 a.m.
Did they bomb a car or did they set off a car bomb? The headline is ambiguous. In the story it sounds like they set off a bomb to destroy a car, which is not what one thinks of when one hears the words "car bomb" in this time of terrorism. Was it an act of terrorism or an act of vandalism?
Tru2Blu76
Tue, Feb 12, 2013 : 3:59 p.m.
You're right - but remember, we have a "Department of Homeland Security" using 70,000 armed officers assigned to the task of confiscating nail clippers and making tourists take off their shoes. We also have journalists who insist on calling ammunition "bullets," calling burglaries "home invasions" and using the verb "lodged" to mean jailed. This is why they sometimes call this period in history, "the Information Age." (they just don't bother to distinguish between actual and whimsical "information")
Wolf's Bane
Tue, Feb 12, 2013 : 11:55 a.m.
Hmm, better get macco..
Ryan Martin
Tue, Feb 12, 2013 : 3:34 p.m.
Maaco does houses now?
motorcycleminer
Tue, Feb 12, 2013 : 11:31 a.m.
A car bombing and shoot out that close to OZ ....that should get the chicken little's clacking..maybe this isn't Kansas after all.....
dancinginmysoul
Tue, Feb 12, 2013 : 4:37 p.m.
Yeah cause car bombings are such a big thing in the US. Outside "OZ" that is.