VBT police arrest suspect in fatal, non-fatal shooting incidents

Officers and detectives with the Van Buren Township Police Department worked throughout the weekend inside Van Buren Estates mobile home park, actively investigating the fatal shooting that occurred on the afternoon of Friday, Aug. 4.
The park is located on Lohr Road between Martz and Bemis roads.
In a news release Sunday, Van Buren Township Deputy Police Chief Joshua Monte said at about 12:15 p.m. Sunday, emergency dispatch received multiple calls of shots being fired inside Van Buren Estates. Since uniformed officers were already at the scene of the fatal shooting, they responded within seconds and were able to quickly identify the residence the shooter fled into.
The suspect refused to come out of the residence and officers and detectives were able to surround the location.
The Western Wayne Special Operations Team, including negotiators, were activated for the barricaded situation. After about two hours of negotiations, the suspect exited the residence and was taken into custody without further incident. He was lodged at the Van Buren Police lockup pending the authorization of charges by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.
Police had advised residents by Nixel to shelter in place at 12:46 p.m. Sunday and after the arrest police sent out a Nixel alert that said it was now safe to resume normal activity, but asked people to avoid Birch Street until the investigation is completed.
Police said they believed the subject arrested Sunday was also responsible for Friday’s fatal shooting.
The victim from Sunday’s shooting was hospitalized and listed in stable condition. The victim’s dog appeared to be grazed by a bullet and was in stable condition at the Romulus Animal Shelter
Deputy Chief Monte said the Van Buren Department extends its heartfelt condolences to the victim’s family and loved ones during this difficult time.
The department also thanks the community for its invaluable support in providing crucial information relating to the ongoing investigations.
The Van Buren department also thanks the police departments who are members of the Western Wayne County Special Operations Consortium, along with the Belleville and Sumpter Township police departments for their quick response.
Channel 7 news interviewed neighbor Corey Dubisky who lives across the street from the man now in police custody. He said, “We were just in our house having lunch at the time and heard, ‘bang bang bang,’ right away, 15 shots or something, a full magazine dump.”
“We don’t even hear about break-ins or anything, so to have a murder and an attempted murder within the same weekend, that’s unbelievable around here,” Dubisky told Channel 7.