By ZEINAB NAJM
Times-Herald Newspapers
HEIGHTS — A mother and sister were killed by an unidentified shooter who was shot dead by police at a Dearborn Heights apartment complex Aug. 29.
Names of the victims and suspect had not been released as of publication, but the mother, daughter and male suspect were 67, 33, and 43 years old, respectively. All three were residents of Dearborn Heights.
WDIV Channel 4 spoke to Rose Deering who said the deceased are her sister Hazel Walker, niece Dani Walker and nephew Donny Walker.
Police responded to a call at Cherry Hill Village Apartments, 238 Yorkshire Blvd., about 2:30 p.m. for a person randomly shooting a rifle off of his balcony.
Once police were at the scene, they observed the suspect on a second story balcony overing looking the parking lot with an assault-style rifle.
Officers made contact with the suspect from a distance and told him to drop the weapon, but the suspect shot at police and they again gave him orders to drop the weapon.
The suspect shot at officers a second time, and police then returned fire, striking and killing the suspect. When police entered the apartment they discovered the two victims inside and already dead at the scene. There was no other injuries or victims.
Michigan State Police said detectives are still trying to determine why the suspect shot and killed his family members. The investigation is ongoing.
Along with the rifle the suspect used during the shooting, he had another rifle in his bedroom along with approximately 30 loaded magazines. MSP said a preliminary investigation revealed that this started as a domestic incident.
Dearborn Heights Police requested that MSP investigate the shooting so the Special Investigation Section Detectives, MSP Unmanned Aircraft, MSP Forensic Lab staff responded to process the scene.
A mapping of the scene has been completed, witness interviews and neighborhood canvass continued by MSP. The investigation is ongoing.
(Zeinab Najm can be reached at [email protected])