Warren police shoot burglary suspect, Detroit lawmaker removed from committee, staggering demand of food banks
THURSDAY NEWS HIT - A 35-year-old man is in critical condition after being shot by Warren police during an attempted arrest following an alleged burglary Thursday morning.
The officer-involved shooting happened around 2 a.m. at a Madison Heights motel on Dequindre Road.
Police had been tailing the suspect after watching him steal a safe an hour earlier.
The suspect was a known offender and described as a career criminal who had just been released from prison on burglary and home invasion charges.
After a surveillance team from Warren police watched the suspect steal a safe out of an Auburn Hills business, they followed him to the Knights Inn and waited for backup.
"The crimes that this particular individual committed have all been serious felony crimes. He had made statements he wasn't willing to go back to prison which meant to us he would use any type of force necessary to get out of the area and not be arrested," said Warren Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer.
When police tried to arrest the suspect, he tried running over one of the officers with his car. He also rammed a squad car before police shot and wounded him.
The man is now in surgery at Beaumont hospital where he remains in critical condition.
"...I'm so grateful none of the officers were seriously injured," said Dwyer.
Police have also obtained a search warrant on a suspect's vehicle as well as at the motel where the man was staying.
Police said a woman and two children had been staying at the hotel with him. Their relationship to the suspect is unknown at this time.
The officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave, per standard procedure.
Detroit mother dies from COVID-19 days after giving birth
A 33-year-old woman gave birth to her second child before dying from the coronavirus just days later.
The tragedy has sent ripples through their family and the community as the latest heartbreak to come during the pandemic.
"She was able to hold him (baby Diego) and talk to him a little bit and she wasn't getting any better so they put her on the ventilator," said Avilez, her brother.
No one knows what Erika Beccera said into her son's ear before he was taken away, and he would never catch COVID-19. But Beccera would only get worse.
"You could just see her teary, she was tearing up until the very last moments of her life," Avilez said.
Her family made the tough decision to take her off of the ventilator and say goodbye on December 3rd. "After we decided to ease her off the medicine you could see the difference in her face, you could see her relax, you could tell she was in pain," he said.
There is a lot of support around this family but if you would like to contribute to their GoFundMe page, GO HERE.
Detroit lawmakers disciplined after posting Facebook video
Ever since President Donald Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani interviewed witnesses in front of the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Cynthia Johnson's life has had a magnifying glass hovering over it.
She received dozens of threatening voicemails after she criticized the actions of Giuliani during the hearing, including one telling her she should be hung from a tree. In response to the voicemails, she posted a video on Facebook where it appears she's making veiled threats toward supporters of the president.
"So this is just a warning to you Trumpers: be careful, walk lightly. We ain't playing with you. enough of the shenanigans. Enough. It's enough - and for those of you who are soldiers, you know how to do it. Do it right. be in order, make them pay. "
The Detroit lawmaker had her committee assignments stripped as a disciplinary action.
"For her to call the police to show those voicemails of threats and then turn around and they do exactly the same thing that she found hurtful against people that voted for President Trump, or supported President Trump, is uncalled for," said former Republican House Majority Leader Rocky Raczkowski.
Johnson's discipline and the threatening rhetoric that preceded it is the latest example of tensions becoming even more strained against the backdrop of a presidential election that's already been decided but remains in limbo for much of the country.
Michigan certified its results last week and the country passed its Safe Harbor Date this week, meaning if any state has its results certified by then, they are free from being litigated.
19-year-old firebombing victim fights for survival after saving family
Stephanie Shelby has burns on over 75% of her body, the result of a firebomb being thrown through her bedroom window Wednesday morning.
Her mom said she was burned head to toe, and when her room caught on fire, so did the 19-year-old.
But Shelby is also credited with saving her family's lives when she ran upstairs and alerted her parents.
"If it wasn't for her coming upstairs to wake us up, and the baby, we would be dead right now," said Felicia Beasley, Shelby's mom.
Neighbors say they could hear the family fighting to get out of the house. The haunting sound of people yelling and screaming for help rang through the subdivision on St. Mary's Street on Detroit's west side.
Also inside the home was the family's 14-year-old brother Jameel and his 7-month-old nephew. Both were able to get to safety and call for help.
“He’s only seven months old, he got him out instantly and came over here," said a neighbor. "He doesn’t think he’s a hero but I know he is.”
With Stephanie in the hospital, the rest of the people in the house are now staying with other relatives. They said the fire took all they had.
According to the Detroit Fire Department, a second suspicious fire was started in the front of the home, however, police have no suspects at this time.
A neighbor has set up a GoFundMe page to help the family during this time. You can find a link HERE.
A Detroit church opens a food bank to staggering demand
The St. Moses the Black church in Detroit has stepped up to help struggling residents put food on the table. But like so many other food banks, they're running out of food and being forced to turn people away.
An overwhelming line of cars alongside Oakman in Detroit stretched back for blocks, another reminder of how difficult finding basic necessities has been during the pandemic. The church says they serve 250 families per week.
"That 251st family - we're telling them to call 211 or Gleaners to find out who else is giving away food," Douglas said. "We may have a little produce left for another 10 or 20 families, but not the whole stretch."
If you can help - Food and monetary donations can also be given to Gleaners on the church's behalf.
With COVID-19 reshaping business attire, dry cleaners further suffer
With white-collar jobs being relocated to the office dens of people's homes, the prospect of business attire has gone out the window. The reshaping lifestyle for many will have cascading effects for years to come - that includes the status of dry cleaners with nothing to dry clean.
"The dry cleaning industry - or my business - basically has almost disappeared," said Amit Bhatia, owner of GM Dry Cleaners.
It's not just offices that people aren't dressing up for anymore. There are events that have been canceled and the general trend of more casual clothes becoming more accepted in the office has increased.
"Why would you need your slacks if you’re working from home in your sweats?" Bhatia said. "Eighty percent of our business has disappeared since COVID."
From West Bloomfield to Farmington Hills, FOX 2 talked to another dry cleaning company that's seeing a decline in business.
Other Stories
1. Mike Duggan has announced plans to run for a third term as mayor of Detroit. He kicked off his campaign with a live steam on Wednesday.
2. A teenager with rickets and her family are facing deportation, worrying her mother who fears health issues could increase if she's forced to leave.
3. If you're asking for someone who needs help, it won't take long to find them. Mark Schimanski did, and he found a single mother of three in need of a furnace.
4. Michigan reported 4,905 more cases and 75 more deaths on Wednesday. That number is still much higher than the target caseload for Michigan. But it's also evidence of improvement.
5. The Michigan Wolverines are 5-0 in basketball play after freshman Hunter Dickson put up 18 points in a sound defeat of Toledo Wednesday night.
Live on FOX 2
Daily Forecast
It's going to be a foggy start to Thursday before the clouds clear and temperatures tick up to 47. Friday is setting up to look a lot like Thursday, too.
48 states, federal regulators bring antitrust action against Facebook
Federal regulators on Wednesday sued to force a breakup of Facebook as 48 states and districts accused the company in a separate lawsuit of abusing its market power in social networking to crush smaller competitors.
The antitrust lawsuits were announced by the Federal Trade Commission and New York Attorney General Letitia James. The FTC specifically asked a court to force Facebook sell off its Instagram and WhatsApp messaging services.
“It’s really critically important that we block this predatory acquisition of companies and that we restore confidence to the market,” James said during a press conference announcing the lawsuit.
The FTC said Facebook has engaged in a “systematic strategy” to eliminate its competition, including by purchasing smaller up-and-coming rivals like Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014. James echoed that in her press conference, saying Facebook "used its monopoly power to crush smaller rivals and snuff out competition, all at the expense of everyday users.”