STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. – The Macomb County Sheriff’s Office has ended its investigation into a shooting in Sterling Heights, determining the use of force was legally justified by police.
On Dec. 3, 2025, officers responded to a welfare check request for 54-year-old Nicolas Reinaldo Quaranta, who had threatened to shoot himself.
Crisis negotiators spent more than an hour attempting to de-escalate the situation.
During the standoff, Quaranta pointed a firearm at his own head and threatened to aim it at officers.
He refused to come down from a staircase inside the condominium before retrieving his firearm and raising it toward officers, prompting an officer to discharge his weapon.
Quaranta was pronounced dead at the scene.
No officers were injured.
The sheriff’s office concluded the use of force was justified under Michigan law and agency policies.
The investigation has been officially closed.