Barricaded St. Clair Shores standoff hits 24 hours with gunman inside home
Over 24 hours - that is how long it has been since a gunman barricaded himself in a St. Clair Shores house.
The neighborhood is still in shock, essentially being on lockdown after fireworks allegedly caused the man to open fire on a crowd, shooting a 62-year-old woman in the leg and 12-year-old in the arm. Both are expected to recover.
The standoff in St. Clair Shores reached into the late hours Friday after police pull out all the stops to flush the gunman out - they shot tear gas into the home, used a tactical vehicle to breach the front door and wielded a fire hose to flush him out.
"We tried to get him to surrender multiple times throughout the night and he shot at officers again, and officers' vehicles.," said Deputy Chief Gary Crandall.
It all began Thursday night on St. Margaret Street when the suspect opened fire on a crowd reportedly angry that kids were playing with sparklers.
"Kids had sparklers, it was not about fireworks, there was no noise," Channita Jackson said. "He (opened fire) directly aiming at the kids, aiming in the crowd. He chased my brother and fiancé down the street still shooting."
The suspected gunman fired on officers, their vehicles and even a camera-equipped robot police used to determine the man's location inside the home.
A source told FOX 2 one of the images that robot captured was the suspect's deceased girlfriend lying on the kitchen floor. That has not been officially confirmed.
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"Everytime a robot gets close to him, he is opening fire on the robot," Deputy Chief Gary Crand
The gunplay and standoff left neighbors at a standstill. Many were forced from or stuck inside their homes as police expanded the perimeter of the scene over and over again.
"At times we heard shots during the night, today we heard shots," said neighbor Daniel Luberto. "It is upsetting."
Police said it has had contact with the suspected gunman in the past due to conflicts with neighbors. He was said to be hiding out in the basement, leading authorities to fill it with water.