Barricaded Gunman Dies After Standoff
Source: Sniper Shoots, Kills Gunman
POSTED: Friday, May 22, 2009
UPDATED: 5:58 pm EDT May 24,
2009
ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Dozens of shots were fired into a community, an officer was injured and a gunman was killed, after a more than five-hour standoff Friday in an Allen Park.
Allen Park police said the confrontation began when 45-year-old Mark Fussner shot a police officer at about 1 p.m. when he, along with officers from the 21st District Court, came to serve him with an eviction notice.
Police said Fussner threatened the officers and barricaded himself in his home near Allen and Southfield roads before emerging with two shotguns and knives.
A police officer was shot in the arm by Fussner as he fired several rounds of buck shot into the neighborhood, hitting everything from trees to homes and cars.
Local 4 reporter Silva Harapetian said she felt the pellets rain down on her live truck.
"I got sprayed with some of the BBs that were being shot off. I was actually two blocks away. The pellets must have been shot in the air and were coming down around us," said witness Jeremy Chapman.
Police said the officer who was shot was taken to Oakwood Hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.
Nobody else has been injured.
The Wayne County preparedness team had called residents in the neighborhood and told them not to leave their homes or enter their homes if they were not already there.
Police had Allen Road blocked off all afternoon.
Multiple surrounding agencies assisted Allen Park police. A Michigan State Police chopper landed on Allen Road, a tank was at the scene and a robot with cameras was sent into the home to find out how many weapons the man had.
Sharpshooters were positioned in the alley and negotiators talked with Fussner.
Local 4 has learned that it was a sniper's bullet that hit and killed Fussner.
Neighbors told Local 4 they called Fussner the "Cigar Man" because he was always outside smoking a cigar, and that he liked to garden.
Police said Fussner had a relatively clean record with the law, only a few "suspicious person" reports are listed as being filed against him.
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