Barricaded gunman on Detroit’s east side had hypothermia after 3-day standoff

'He even said thank you,” Craig said

DETROIT – After three days, a police standoff on Detroit’s east side came to an end.

For 52 hours police patiently worked to bring the barricaded situation on Pelkey Street near 7 mile Road to a peaceful end. Police said the situation started when the gunman fired shots at a neighbor’s home Tuesday morning.

READ: Barricaded gunman situation on Detroit’s east side ends after 3-day standoff

“We would have never thought that we would have gone into this critical incident for 52 hours,” Detroit Police Chief James Craig said.

For those 52 hours the neighborhood looked like a war zone. There were SWAT members, police officers and Homeland Security officers in the area.

Elonzo Curry lives down the street and said the incident started when police responded to the home earlier in the week.

“This is an unfortunate incident considering this is the Christmas season,” Curry said.

Police said the man fired multiple shots at his neighbor’s home.

Curry and the other neighbors expected things to wrap up quickly.

“But for it to go on this long, it’s unheard of. I mean, it’s crazy,” Curry said.

“The great news is he’s alive,” Craig said.

Police tried for days to enter the home.

There is a giant hole in the roof of the home, where police gained access.

The barricaded man was taken into custody without incident.

Craig said the suspect had a large sawed off shotgun next to him. When police walked inside his body was too cold to react.

“In fact he has hypothermia. If this had gone on much longer he wouldn’t have made it. He didn’t resist. In fact, he even said thank you,” Craig said.

Police had a similar situation with the same person in 2017. Police said he fired his gun 17 times while running around the neighborhood in just his underwear.

Craig said his team will be meeting with the prosecutor’s office for possible charges.


About the Authors:

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.