INKSTER, Mich. – A murder suspect was shot and killed Thursday by an Inkster police officer shortly after the man shot and killed a friend behind his own house, police said.
Officials received a call around 5 p.m. Thursday that the man had shot another man in the backyard of his home on Frederick Court. Police said the two young men, around 19 or 20 years old, were arguing when one shot the other.
Neighbors said they heard the commotion when officers arrived.
"I heard the police call out a street around the corner and said that they had found somebody," neighbor Courtney Owens said.
Police found someone who matched the description of the shooter on Wellington Street near Colgate Street.
"The individual pulled a weapon and fired shots at Inkster officers," Michigan State Police Lt. Mike Shaw said.
"We heard, 'Pop, pop, pop, pop,' and the cops go flying," neighbor Deborah Hayes said.
"I started running around the corner to see what was going on," Owens said.
"Law enforcement returned fire, shooting and killing the suspect," Shaw said.
"Next thing we know, an ambulance goes flying behind the cops, and they yelled, 'We got him,'" Hayes said.
Neighbors said they were shocked because the two men were friends and had been seen laughing at the store right before the incident.
"One of the young men, I remember the day his mom brought him home from the hospital next door," Owens said.
Officials said the shooter was troubled with mental health issues.
"His family did everything they could," Owens said. "I know he had the support of his mom, his cousin, his aunties. I don't know why this would happen."
"This is pretty much a six-month thing for me," Hayes said. "I'm thinking about moving. I don't want my grandchildren living like this."
Neighbors said the house where the shooting happened is the same house police had previously surrounded for a barricaded gunman, and when they went in, nobody was home. They believe it was the same young man police shot and killed Thursday.