Seven-second confrontation in Warren ends with teen's fatal shooting
Francis X. DonnellyWarren — Seven seconds. That was the length of a confrontation between Warren police and an armed teenager on Friday.
During that time, the 18-year-old chased two police officers out of his garage and pointed his pistol at a third, with the officer shooting him, police said. The teen, whose name wasn’t released, later died.
None of the officers were injured.
Before the incident, the 18-year had been up for four days, was assaulting his siblings and was going “crazy,” a younger brother had told police earlier.
Warren Police Commissioner Charles Rushton said the investigation is still early but that the teen may have been suffering from mental issues. He had been involved in a similar fracas with his family over the winter but they resolved the issue after two days, said Rushton.
A toxicology screening by the medical examiner showed that there were no drugs in his system, said the commissioner.
During a news conference Monday, Rushton said he didn’t know why the teen confronted the armed, uniformed officers.
“We probably will never know exactly what was going on inside his mind,” he said. “I don’t think we'll ever be able to get that information.”
Rushton said the teen never had any other interactions with police, save a few driving infractions. The police never responded to an incident at the teen’s home before, he said.
The teen’s gun, a 9-mm Glock, was registered to him and had been legally purchased from a private individual, said Rushton.
In Michigan, one must be 21 to buy a gun from a business but just 18 to purchase it from a private person, said the commissioner.
During the news conference, the police played a video of the incident shot from the officers’ body cameras.
“Make no mistake about it,” said Lt. John Gajewski, the department spokesperson. “This footage is as real as it gets. It is intense. It is emotional.”
The incident began Friday at 1:39 p.m. with a 911 call by the teen’s younger brother, who told a dispatcher that he hadn’t slept for four days and was assaulting his sisters.
The assault involved pushing and shoving, Rushton told reporters. In all, five people were in the home at the time, he said.
“My brother is going crazy,” said the caller. “Our brother is assaulting everyone. We tried to help him. He’s crazy.”
The caller, who was in his early teens, then told the dispatcher that he needed to hide the phone and asked her to stop talking.
At that point, police officers began arriving at the home on Barbara Street north of 11 Mile Road.
An officer knocked on the front door but no one answered, according to the video. The garage door then began to open.
Two officers walked into the garage but one spotted the teen emerging from the home into the garage with a Glock in his hand.
“Oh, s—t,” cried the officer. “Gun, gun, gun, gun.”
The two officers scurried out of the garage as the teen yelled something that couldn’t be deciphered.
The teen then followed the officers around the house and, as he turned a corner of a fence with hedges, he saw a third officer and pointed his weapon at him, according to the video. The officer and a second officer then shot him.
The two officers fired 11 shots with three striking the teen, said Rushton.
The two officers have been with the Police Department for three and 16 years, said Rushton.
The four officers who responded to the call are on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure, said Rushton
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