DETROIT (FOX 2) - Late Thursday night, a Detroit Police Officer shot and killed a man suspected in the quadruple shooting of teens last weekend. On Friday, Police Chief James Craig said the weekend shooting was gang-related.
Detroit Police were still at the intersection of McKinney and Whittier near I-94 all day Friday where the suspect was shot by a DPD officer.
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Detroit Police continue investigating shooting death of man by police who was wanted in quadruple shooting
Detroit Police Chief James Craig said the officer who shot the suspect was in fear for his life.
The suspect was involved in a chase and police said he was armed with a weapon when he fled on foot, before being shot by the officer.
Craig said the DPD officer believed his own life was in danger when he shot the suspect once.
"My prayers go out to the family of the suspect who is no longer here. But I'm also thankful none of our officers were injured," Craig said.
He said the suspect was wanted in the shooting of four teens on July 19th, two of which are in 'very grave' condition in Detroit area hospitals. He said the city's gang unit was in the area and got information about a possible suspect when they found him with two other suspects.
When officers tried to pull over the car, they were instead led on a high-speed chase lasting about 10 minutes. All three suspects got out of the car and started running. One of the suspects had a gun and, when approached by an officer, the officer said he feared for his safety and shot him. He died at a nearby hospital.
Craig said the original shooting on Sunday was gang-related and may have been retaliation.
"We recognize there's too much violence and we're doing everything we can to mitigate that but in doing so, our officers are going in direct harm's way," Craig said.
This is the second police shooting in two weeks. On July 10th, Hakim Littleton was shot and killed by an officer at West McNichols and San Juan Drive. In that shooting, police said Littleton got into a struggle with officers and, while being held down, grabbed a gun and shot at an officer over his shoulder. Chief Craig said multiple officers then returned fire, killing him.
Witnesses said he wasn't armed and Craig released bodycam video that night of the shooting. Littleton's shooting prompted anger and protests throughout the weekend and eventually, eight people were arrested.
The shooting at McKinney and Whittier did not spark the same reaction as police processed the scene.
"I gotta commend our community but I want to also commend the hard work of the men and woman of the 9th precint and our gang intelligence," Craig said.
The shooting is still under investigation but no further details or bodycam video was released on Friday.