Police say Dearborn man pointed gun at officer, pulled trigger, but it failed to fire

A Dearborn man who was shot to death in the lobby of the city's police department Sunday suffered from mental illness and tried to shoot directly at an officer — but the gun failed to fire, police said.

He pointed a stolen 9mm pistol at a police officer and pulled the trigger, but the gun malfunctioned, Lt. Mike Shaw, a Michigan State Police spokesperson, told the Free Press on Monday.

The Dearborn man was then shot by the officer multiple times.

“He was trying to kill a police officer, or whoever was in that lobby at that time," Shaw said.

The man's family identified him as Ali Naji, 33.

He was known to have struggled with mental illness and had stolen the gun earlier that day, police said. Shaw did not disclose where the gun was stolen.

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"The 33-year-old suspect walked into the police station lobby and looked around. When the officer behind the desk approached the window the suspect pulled out a 9mm pistol from his pocket and engaged the officer," MSP wrote on Twitter.

"The firearm malfunctioned and the suspect attempted to correct the malfunction. The officer shot the suspect. The lobby was cleared."

The investigation is ongoing. The Dearborn Police Department's lobby reopened to the public late Monday afternoon.

Andrea Sahouri covers criminal justice for the Detroit Free Press. She can be contacted at 313-264-0442,asahouri@freepress.com or on Twitter @andreamsahouri.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Dearborn man tried to shoot officer, but it failed to fire, police say