Dearborn Hampton Inn noise complaint escalates to murder of clerk, 7-hour standoff
Dearborn Hampton Inn clerk killed while checking on other staff, police say
Police said 55-year-old Tyrone Chapple was checking in on other staff who were trying to get Reichard Lee Williams-Lewis to leave the Dearborn Hampton Inn when Williams-Lewis allegedly killed the clerk. He then barricaded himself in a hotel room for about seven hours.
DEARBORN, Mich (FOX 2) - A noise complaint Thursday at the Dearborn Hampton Inn escalated to a fatal shooting and a standoff inside the hotel on Michigan Avenue.
Reichard Lee Williams-Lewis, 37, is facing one count of premeditated first-degree murder, one count of assault with intent to murder, two counts of felonious assault, one count of resisting and obstructing a police officer, and five counts of felony firearm in connection with the shooting that left 55-year-old Tyrone Chapple dead.
Read: Hampton Inn shooting suspect charged
Police said Chapple was getting off the elevator to check on other hotel staff who were asking Williams-Lewis to leave when the suspect allegedly shot Chapple then stood over him and shot him in the head twice.
"He was a 55-year-old from Riverview and had an amazing family that cared deeply for him. He was gunned down just doing his job checking on people," Dearborn Police Chief Issa Shahin said.
A 21-year-old woman was also hurt after he was hit by shrapnel when Williams-Lewis allegedly fired shots near the front desk.
Shahin happened to be nearby when he heard the shooting call and responded.
"I was at Michigan and Southfield, and I was in the process of taking my dad to a doctor's appointment when the call came out. I was really just at the right place at the right time," he said.
Within four minutes. Shahin and three other officers were inside.
"He was seen on camera going up and down the hotel armed with his handgun looking for God knows what," he said.
The officers confronted Williams-Lewis, who retreated into room 302 and stayed there for about seven hours while police negotiated with him.
More: Attorney helped negotiate Hampton Inn gunman surrender
"He's armed with a high-profile rifle that had a drum magazine with up to a hundred rounds in it, and he had three other handguns in his room," Shahin said. "The weapons he was armed with would have gone through walls and floors, so we wanted to do everything to get everyone to safety."
Wiliams-Lewis, who had a warrant for narcotics possession in Detroit, had mental health issues, Shahin said.
"He was a veteran. He suffered from untreated mental health issues, PTSD, and also substance abuse issues," Shahin said. When you intersect mental health, substance abuse issues, firearms, the outcomes are generally so tragic."
Williams-Lewis was remanded to the Wayne County Jail after he was charged Sunday.