Police footage shows gunman firing at helicopter in Detroit

After shots were fired at a Michigan State Police helicopter Tuesday evening, troopers on foot fatally shot a man in a northwest Detroit neighborhood when he opened fire a second time, according to police.

The aviation unit known as Trooper 2 notified police dispatchers at about 7:30 p.m. that the helicopter was being targeted by a green laser being shined from the second story of an abandoned home in the 12800 block of Terry Street.

"Moments later, Trooper 2 advised that they were now being shot at from the same location," state police announced via Twitter.

This frame capture from video taken by the MSP Trooper 2 helicopter, the suspect appears to pointing and firing a long gun at the helicopter before proceeding downstairs and out the back door.
This frame capture from video taken by the MSP Trooper 2 helicopter, the suspect appears to pointing and firing a long gun at the helicopter before proceeding downstairs and out the back door.

A video from Trooper 2 released by state police shows the green laser and a man at a second story window of the home. The man appears to pointing a long gun at the helicopter before proceeding downstairs and out the back door.

"He might be armed, he almost looks like he's holding a long gun pointed at us right now," a state trooper could be heard in the video telling dispatch. It appears in the video that the man then shot at the helicopter twice.

"Yeah, he's shooting at us right now," the trooper continued.

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State troopers responded to the home on foot, and the man came out of the home and began firing again, police said.

The troopers returned fire, killing him, according to Michigan State Police. Two troopers were involved in the shooting, one with nine years of service and the other with two years. Both were uninjured and placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.

Lt. Mike Shaw, a spokesperson for Michigan State Police, said detectives believe the man was firing more rounds at the helicopter before troopers on the ground fatally shot him.

"And after he fired, the troopers fired," Shaw said.

Video from state troopers on foot was not released.

The suspect was described by police as a 33-year-old from Lincoln Park, who at the time of the shooting had been living in the abandoned home. Police declined to provide the man's name.

Five guns were recovered from the home, according to state police. An additional gun was recovered from the Lincoln Park man.

A house sits unoccupied on Terry Street in Detroit on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023 after the Michigan State Police fatally shot a male who allegedly targeted an aviation unit from said house on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023.
A house sits unoccupied on Terry Street in Detroit on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023 after the Michigan State Police fatally shot a male who allegedly targeted an aviation unit from said house on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023.

A motive had not been determined.

Neighbors told the Free Press they believe the man had been remodeling the home since last summer, and that he recently moved into the home about a month ago after it was allegedly broken into and tools had been stolen.

Police continued to investigate Wednesday.

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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: Suspect killed after shots fired at police helicopter in Detroit