Cold weather helps police arrest suspect peacefully after shootout

WARREN, Mich. (WJBK) - A domestic dispute led to gunfire in Warren when a man shot at police.

The 21-year-old suspect was feisty and argumentative when he was taken into custody by Warren police Tuesday.

Investigators say he fired shots into his porch in the 7600 block of Chalmers and as police arrived, they say the suspect's girlfriend drove away with a young child inside the vehicle.

That's when police, arriving to a domestic call, say the suspect started shooting.

"I just stared hearing loud pops," said neighbor Frank Crapper. "Two minutes later there were cops are on the side of my bathroom, by my bedroom door, on the side of my house. It was crazy."

"It looks like it may have been child custody kind of dispute," Commissioner Jere Green said. It was the girlfriend and I believe his baby."

Investigators say police returned fire but the suspect took cover inside the house.

"It appeared we had barricaded situation," Green said. "But before we could set up a perimeter, now we know he escaped out the back door and hid in the garage next door with the weapon."

Investigators say the SWAT team was called in and some area businesses and schools were placed on lockdown.

As police worked to bring this situation to a peaceful end, they say the weather helped them take the suspect into custody.

"With this weather he decided to give up - it was too cold to hang out in the garage," Green said.

Police say they recovered a .45 caliber semi-automatic weapon adding they have responded to calls about the house before. The incident is still under investigation and charges are pending.