Police: Man shoots ex-wife in Ann Arbor park, then kills himself
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details.
A man shot his ex-wife then turned the gun on himself shortly after 1 a.m. today at Ann Arbor’s Dolph Park Nature Area, Ann Arbor police said.
The man, a 37-year-old Monroe County resident is dead. His ex-wife, a 33-year-old Ann Arbor resident, is in stable condition at the University of Michigan Hospital and is expected to recover, said Sgt. Pat Hughes.
Dolph Park Nature Area on the west side of Ann Arbor, where a man injured his ex-wife and fatally shot himself early Saturday morning
Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com
The man, a former Ann Arbor resident, shot the woman in the neck and shoulder area in the car at the park, Hughes said. She was able to get out of the vehicle and get the attention of two people who were entering the park. She got in their car and they drove her out of the park and called 911.
She was taken by Huron Valley Ambulance to University of Michigan Hospital, where she had surgery.
Ann Arbor police went to the park and found the man with a gunshot wound to the head, Hughes said. He was also taken to University of Michigan Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Hughes said the two, who had divorced about a year ago, had agreed to meet Friday night in the Canton area. They met about 8 p.m. in the area of Canton Center Road and Michigan Avenue, but at some point the meeting turned violent. The man produced a handgun and forced the woman to drive around for several hours at gunpoint.
Eventually, they stopped at the Dolph Park Nature Area, where the shooting occurred.
Police have not released the name of the man or woman. They have three children, Hughes said.
View Dolph Park Nature Area in a larger map
Comments
WhyCan'tWeBeFriends
Mon, May 30, 2011 : 7:45 a.m.
Please correct me if I am wrong, but a woman is never in more danger than after she has left the abuser. That seems to be the case here with this alleged attack/suicide. Please be aware of those in similar danger and err on the side of caution. I once expressed my fear of this to a newly divorced woman in a not-friendly divorce scenario; she said I wasn't the first one concerned.
Arboriginal
Sun, May 29, 2011 : 9:58 p.m.
She is home from the hospital and her family is there to help her. She's a good neighbor with the most well behaved children. I'm so glad she is able to be with her kids.
anti-thug
Mon, May 30, 2011 : 3:33 p.m.
is the victim and was suspected from Ypsilanti or any were near?? the night club shooting involved a ypsi man
BhavanaJagat
Sun, May 29, 2011 : 5:04 p.m.
I know this park and had visited it several times with my family and my son did a little science project about the lake and its change with time. This incident gives a sense of sadness and the sadness is caused by events associated with a failed human relationship. Relationships speak about the nature of our mental health. The term mental health is defined as the capacity in an individual to form harmonious relations with others and to participate in or contribute constructively to changes in the social environment. We read this as a story about crime and criminal activity involving the use of a gun. My concern is about the quality of human relations and as to how it affects the society in which we live and participate. I understand this story as a reflection of our failure as a society to help people with mental health problems. Our political leaders speak about health care and health care reform all the time. Billions of dollars are being spent to provide hospital care and services while there are many who have no basic health care. We have failed to define the term health and we have not asked to include mental well-being as a basic component of health and well-being of man.
BhavanaJagat
Mon, May 30, 2011 : 1:52 a.m.
Thanks for your kind response. Physical injuries and wounds heal when they are closed and kept covered. Mental injuries and wounds heal only when they are exposed. The children and mother need to expose their mental grief and obtain healing of their wounds. When pain is exposed it evokes the response of compassion, a divine power that can uplift man from sorrow and misery. I also feel sadness as a young man has ended his life because of bitterness, frustration and uncontrolled anger which is related to a relationship problem. Such problems deserve to be treated with respect and dignity and we need to give the man to live his life to the fullest extent possible. This act of suicide could be prevented when we let compassion to play its role to bring healing when man gets hurt or injured. <a href="http://bhavanajagat.wordpress.com/2010/06/01/pain-and-compassion-philosophy-of-medicine/" rel='nofollow'>http://bhavanajagat.wordpress.com/2010/06/01/pain-and-compassion-philosophy-of-medicine/</a>
say it plain
Sun, May 29, 2011 : 5:31 p.m.
That's a very interesting point, really, and I'm not sure that enough is done to understand and treat domestic abuse situations as the mental health problems they are. There are so very many social barriers to the vision of overall health you reference, sigh, and yes, the ultimate 'illnesses' take many forms, including this horrible scenario... Our landscapes are littered with these senses of sadness. One very important landscape of my past became polluted with such a scene of violence/illness, and this story reminds me of that. We can only hope that the woman in this case, who thankfully survived the attack, and her children, can move beyond the trauma they've experienced.
Wolf's Bane
Sun, May 29, 2011 : 1:47 p.m.
Domestic Violence kills.
Wolf's Bane
Sun, May 29, 2011 : 1:43 p.m.
Stronger control means that I would have to surrender my BushMaster. I like my BushMaster and AK 47. I need them for personal protection when I go walking in the woods.
Wolf's Bane
Mon, May 30, 2011 : 6:48 p.m.
I was being ironic.
tdw
Sun, May 29, 2011 : 2:18 p.m.
Huh???
Mike
Sun, May 29, 2011 : 1:40 p.m.
Where's the article calling for stronger gun control. This guy wasn't right in the head. I hope his ex makes a full recovery.
anti-thug
Mon, May 30, 2011 : 3:36 p.m.
you never who would do such a thing in the first place maybe their no tall-tail singes of this gun being a nut.
Andrew Jason Clock
Sun, May 29, 2011 : 1:33 p.m.
Staff, this happened in Ann Arbor. Why isn't it tagged Ann Arbor, like all of this sensational crime stories about Ypsilanti are tagged Ypsilanti?
tdw
Sun, May 29, 2011 : 2:17 p.m.
Because it happened in Ann Arbor and not in Ypsi.Silly boy
Love
Sun, May 29, 2011 : 4:05 a.m.
I know his/her daughter! I feel terrible for her, Her family and lets just say, there has been a lot of abuse in her family.... I talk with her a lot and she kept saying she was scared this was gonna happen. I feel really bad now that I didn't at least try to get her to speak to anyone about it.
Ellen
Sun, May 29, 2011 : 12:59 p.m.
Love, don't feel bad. Just keep being a good friend to this girl and her siblings. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in this tragic situation.
fight hunger
Sun, May 29, 2011 : 3:14 a.m.
she is a family member please pray for her and his family too
RJA
Sun, May 29, 2011 : 3:11 a.m.
This victim is in my thoughts and prayers for full recovery. Also in my prayers go out to the 3 children left without a father. Sad for the familes of the husband and wife.
Jazz
Sun, May 29, 2011 : 1:32 a.m.
To the victim: Thank goodness you are okay. I was so relieved to hear that you got out of the car and got help. Praying for you and your children. This hits close to home, not only because I live in the area, but because my mother was a victim of domestic violence and to hear of something so awful really grasps my heart and hurts. May you have a speedy recovery so that you can get back to those that need you most, your children.
tidge
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 11:16 p.m.
I formally request that Annarbor.com stop "tagging" crime in Ypsilanti as "Ypsilanti" if they are never going to tag crime in Ann Arbor as "Ann Arbor". It is shameful and insulting to have a double-standard.
Jim Pryce
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 9:51 p.m.
Hope she pulls through. It would be terrible for them to lose both parents.
omniskeptic
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 9:48 p.m.
The story, at least as it appears in Mlive, is flanked by one on Ann Arbor being the 4th "Best Read" city in America and another one on pot holes. If you come in from annarbor.com, it gets top billing, at least, and the headline is better. I usually read A2.com via Mlive because the native web site is so poorly designed, but if you go into the stories from Mlive, you do sometimes get these odd juxtapositions. You pays your money (or actually, you don't) and you takes your choice, I guess.
say it plain
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 10:09 p.m.
Yeah, true dat... It's why I didn't end up paying my money when the AA paper edition was in its death throes lol. it's still, fwiw, listed under "Shooting in Ann Arbor leaves one dead, one hospitalized..:" in the AA.com's own "active discussions" heading lol. Not that this is a huge deal, of course, it's just sloppy, and reflects some underlying 'issues' imo.
say it plain
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 9:32 p.m.
@wrw, it's funny... "what I was reading" was an article that looked perhaps exactly as it does now, except the headline read "Shooting in Ann Arbor leaves one dead, one hospitalized" and it *still* reads like that on the 'local' tab for my yahoo frontpage lol! (I click on it and it gets me to this revised headline, but the url line still shows the old one!) So, yes, while I look like an awful complainer about misleading headlines, the AA.com actually changed the story first (because they explain to me--and I have no evidence one way or another lol--that this was the headline they had before they had 'details' about what happened), then failed to change the headline, etc etc It's weird that they don't just open up a new thread and close the old "breaking news" one if they can't manage to update/correct/ change their pieces like ehrm "other" publications online somehow manage to do. I think I've seen them open 'updated story' threads and close old ones in the past, but perhaps I am imagining that. Just like it leaves a reader 'imagining' what stories looked like before they changed x or y, as though this is some sort of little backwoods blog or something lol... oh well...
wrw
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 7:22 p.m.
say it plain...I'm confused by your confusion...''Man shoots ex-wife in Ann Arbor park, then kills himself''...I don't know how much more plain than that you can get...I most certainly did not get the impression that there were people with guns shooting people in the park as you seem to have. Makes me wonder what you are reading.
say it plain
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 9:11 p.m.
Okay, let's bring this back to the story's core... that yet another woman has fallen victim to a man with significant 'problems', and who has tried to take out his frustrations on her by attempting to murder her. What exists in the way of MI programs to help prevent this sort of thing? I knew a woman at a former workplace of mine, in a different state, who was trying to divorce her husband, but never got the chance, because his hold on her included deciding that if he left her, she would die. He came to her workplace and shot her dead, then killed himself. They had 3 kids too, left orphaned because of his deep, awful, emotional problems and his access to weapons. It's absolutely horrible, and it happens entirely too often...
Lola
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 8:33 p.m.
I agree Tom W. I have seen this happen multiple times and the result is making some commenters appear dumber than usual. A2.com, please consider changing how you handle edits so that blame can be placed where it belongs. That being said I hope this woman has a full recovery and that she and her children can heal. What a traumatizing event this must be for them.
Tom Whitaker
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 7:42 p.m.
say it plain commented on a previous version of the headline, which has been changed (see staff comment about 3 comments up). annarbor.com routinely changes text and headlines and only puts a general note at the top that says "this story has been updated." Since the original version is removed, there is no way to see what was changed, and comments made by readers that apply to the original are left dangling. See how the New York Times and other online newspapers handle changes to stories made after initial publication. Typically, they will add the new information at the bottom, clearly delineated from the previous version. Some highlight the new or changed text, leaving the original text with a strike-through. annarbor.com expects readers to come back multiple times and reread the entire story to try and figure out what's new.
Matt Cooper
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 6:31 p.m.
I'm wondering why people can't simply offer their condolences to the woman, who survived, and her kids, who lost their father and almost their mother as well instead of whining and complaining about the editing, the timing and the placement of ads. Are you all a bunch of expert editors? Do you all have PH.d's in communications or journalism? If you don't like the editing, why not shut up and go read something else? For my part, I pray the woman makes a full recovery and that she and her kids live a full, healthy and long life free from any more trauma. They've been through enough
SFK
Tue, Jul 12, 2011 : 7:24 p.m.
It's PhDs, not PH.d's
say it plain
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 9:04 p.m.
boy, you guys complaining about my complaining really truly have nothing better to do lol... of course I care about the woman and the children and hope they recover. whatever, I'll take my ball and go home and leave you 'real' commentators to your commentating ;-)
jcj
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 8:02 p.m.
Bravo Matt! You hit the nail on the head. Speaking of nails I was mad enough when I read all the whining I could have spit nails. The concern should be for the kids and ex-wife. I hope they can all get through this with as little damage as possible. But even that will be considerable at best.
a2citizen
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 6:56 p.m.
Because this is A2. Where a parrot's life is more important than a human beings.
huh7891
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 6:46 p.m.
Matt, I totally agree with you, but do consider some people having nothing better to do then, whine, bitch and complain. Their lives would not be complete without it. Better yet , they should send their resume into A2.com get a job there and prove they are the better journalist/ blogger.
Jen Eyer
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 4:49 p.m.
@say it plain, bruceae and others: We're not trying to mislead anyone. That is the original headline, before we had the details. We have made the headline more specific now that we have more information.
say it plain
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 9:01 p.m.
I try @sbbuilder lol, it's not easy, as you might realize ;-) Of course, as @Tom Whitaker points out, it's not easy to see where 'mere' mistakes are made in updating. If careful practices about corrections/changes/updates aren't followed, it's hard for readers to see where stories 'started' and so on. Still, of course, if was wrong in thinking the full story was already submitted and on-line when the headline was written, then it would be silly not to apologize :-)
sbbuilder
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 7:46 p.m.
say it plain Did you actually apologize for making a mistake? Wow. Cool. What a good precedent. I hope others have the courage to do the same.
DBH
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 5:59 p.m.
Amen to that, Mr. Whitaker.
Tom Whitaker
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 5:30 p.m.
annarbor.com really ought to follow best practices for online journalism and clearly identify when they've made corrections, additions, deletions or other changes to stories. It puts a burden on readers to have to reread the same story multiple times per day to see what new facts may have crept in, and leaves the publication vulnerable to ethical issues, as well.
say it plain
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 5 p.m.
Oh, okay, didn't see it til this morning at like 10am, at which time it said "shooting at ann arbor park, 1 dead..." and still had all those details in it... I guess I have to 'merely' hope that proof-reading an 'update' would include 'changing now-misleading headlines' :-) Sorry for my mistake!
48104
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 4:57 p.m.
Because they have replaced the what was there. It was very generic earlier when all they know was that there was a shooting.
say it plain
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 4:54 p.m.
With all due respect, the article states what happened in the first sentence. How could "shooting in ann arbor park, one dead, one injured" have *ever been* the 'first breaking news, no further info' headline?!
48104
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 4:35 p.m.
Chill, people. When I read this right after I woke up, they didn't know who was involved, just that there was a shooting in the park, one dead and one hospitalized. I did think that it was some sort of deal gone wrong, but Dolph Park seemed like an odd choice for that.
say it plain
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 4:47 p.m.
Right, but why not tell us what happened in the headline lol? Because as you point out, at the very least the sentence they used made it seem like the shooting was among 'strangers' (you know, that 'deal gone bad' thing) instead of the domestic scene it actually *was*...
bruceae
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 4:10 p.m.
@say it plain: They have to "create" a headline that gets your interest so you click on the story. It doesn't matter if it is totaly misleading. We all were mislead thinking there is a killer loose in Ann Arbor and instead it's just a nut job that drives up from Monroe to Canton, drives around for a while and ends up in Ann Arbor where he shoots his ex. and himself. The city where he ended up was totaly random and our police force has to do the paperwork on it.
say it plain
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 8:09 p.m.
and just to be clear, I'm not looking to 'cover my head' lol, nor do I think other people were emotionally damaged by the headline lol... I'm from a place where this sort of story wouldn't even get a second click if it *were* about gang-related shootings lol... I just don't like to see silly journalistic techniques is all, and I wondered why there was such a disparity between the events reported and the headline used to draw our attention to it ;-)
say it plain
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 8:06 p.m.
not at all correct about this @jcj, this is *exactly* about the story. I could see what the story was, and I was *not* scared lol, perhaps you misunderstand my point. I would *never* write in complaining about spelling! I only care about the important stuff, which is *meaning*, and the journalism here left that hidden. That is the only issue I would take with a newspaper, I am not a grammarian or a spelling-bee freak ;-)
jcj
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 7:57 p.m.
Anyone that was so scared because of the headline that they could not take 30 seconds to read the story should not even look at the news. Just lock yourself in your closet and cover your head. I saw this story at 8 am this morning and although details were sketchy, I never once had the impression that someone was "roaming"the streets It does not matter what the story there are those that are more concerned with the headline or a misspell that they ignore the story!
say it plain
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 4:26 p.m.
And I agree with both of you, @bruceae and @Epengar ;-) It is indeed relevant to our city, because these folks had been part of the community, and we should care just because they are *people* who did this, how horrible for us all to have to deal with the violence we can inflict on each other... But the headline really ought to reflect *what happened here*, which is the kind of relationship-based violence that happens everybloodywhere-- sad for women and children and the messed-up men who do this sort of stuff everybloodywhere, but not really a reflection on the safety of Ann Arbor. The headline makes it seem like the safety of our streets are at issue here. Don't worry AA.com...I think you'd still get clicks with "Man shoots wife,self, in Dolph Park".
mojo
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 4:24 p.m.
Agreed; starting a headline with "Shooting in Ann Arbor .... scares everyone and you want to read the story. Whereas, "Ex-husband shoots ex-wife, self" is what happened, but is too boring and lacks drama.
Epengar
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 4:14 p.m.
I agree with your main point, but the article says that she's a resident of the city and he's a former resident. So ending in Ann Arbor isn't random.
say it plain
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 3:58 p.m.
Shouldn't the headline state something more like "Man shoots estranged wife in Ann Arbor park, turns gun on self"?! To read it as it stands, it seems like there are people roaming our parks with weapons and one person was left dead, one injured...a little misleading, as well as sensationalist?
Andrew Jason Clock
Sun, May 29, 2011 : 1:33 p.m.
Welcome to the world of aa.com crime reports. You should feel lucky. In Ypsilanti, we don't get any of the feel good crap to balance out the sensationalism.
a2citizen
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 10:43 p.m.
Why is covering a murder in an Ann Arbor park sensationalist?
fight hunger
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 3:58 p.m.
wow hard to belive
Terri
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 7:12 p.m.
Why? This sort of thing happens entirely too often. I hope the woman survives and that she and her children get the help they will need after all of this. They are in my prayers.
Tommy489
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 3:50 p.m.
Ann Arbor.com needs to reconsider the placement of its ads. This is how I read this article: "A man shot his ex-wife then turned the gun on himself shortly after 1 a.m. today at Ann Arbor's Dolph Park Nature Area, Ann Arbor police said. The man, a 37-year-old Monroe County resident is dead. His ex-wife, a 33-year-old Ann Arbor resident, is in stable condition at the University of Michigan Hospital and is expected to recover, said Sgt. Pat Hughes. [ Goin' to the chapel? What's the best bridal shop? Vote now ]" Nice. I hope this unfortunate woman recovers from her wounds and can put her life back together.
jcj
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 7:52 p.m.
I agree totally with the placement of these ads. They must get a pretty penny for that kind of intrusion into the story.
thorny
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 1:46 p.m.
Second time in two days that a Detroit news service scooped aa.com in its own backyard.
Mike
Sun, May 29, 2011 : 1:32 p.m.
Who cares AA news basically went out of business because no one wanted to subscribe to such a liberal newspaper full of bias.