ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich. – Police are providing a much clearer picture Monday of what happened during a 30-hour standoff with a gunman in St. Clair Shores.
The gunman, Tom Ihlendfeldt, 58, and a woman, Carol Baur, 60, were found dead inside the home, according to authorities.
Police said Ihlendfeldt got angry that his neighbors were shooting off fireworks around 10 p.m. Thursday for the Fourth of July. That's when everything spun out of control, officials said.
Officers were called to the neighborhood around 10 p.m. Thursday, and residents who live in the area weren't allowed back in their homes for 36 hours.
Nearly three hours after St. Clair Shores police had surrounded Ihlendfeldt's home at Saint Margaret and East 13 Mile Road, they tried deploying gas to smoke him out, police said.
When that didn't work, they called in the Michigan State Police Bomb Squad, which used a robot to get inside the house.
That's when police saw Baur's body, officials said. They also realized Ihlendfeldt was in the basement.
Ihlendfeldt shot the robot, disabling it, and then fired at police using a high-powered rifle, according to authorities.
On Friday morning, a SWAT team smashed through the home using an armored vehicle, but that had little effect on Ihlendfeldt. Police said he continued to shoot at officers.
While the neighborhood was evacuated, police weren't taking any chances. They tried waiting out Ihlendfeldt for hours.
Officers continued using gas and robots, finally bringing in firefighters Friday evening.
For about an hour, they used a hose to pump water into the basement, hoping to flood Ihlendfeldt out, officials said. That didn't work either, police said.
SWAT officers got inside around 2:30 a.m. Saturday and realized Ihlendfeldt had killed himself.
Officials said Baur had been shot multiple times.