Detroit

Gunman in Hours-Long Standoff at Michigan Hotel Arrested After Killing Clerk, Police Say

The armed man barricaded himself inside a room for nearly seven hours after shooting a clerk while discussing his bill

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An armed man accused of killing one person before barricading himself inside a room at a suburban Detroit hotel surrendered Thursday night and was taken into custody, Michigan State Police said.

“The barricaded gunman has been taken into custody without incident,” state police said on Twitter.

The surrender occurred shortly before 9 p.m. EDT, or nearly seven hours after the standoff began.

Businesses in the surrounding popular dining and shopping area were evacuated or locked down.

The barricaded gunman has been taken into custody without incident. Michigan Avenue is still closed and will be as the investigation continues.

The shooting early Thursday afternoon stemmed from a dispute over money with staff at the Hampton Inn in Dearborn, Police Chief Issa Shahin said at a news conference.

The 55-year-old man from Riverview was shot and taken to a hospital, where he died. The man “was just trying to do his job,” Shahin said.

The accused gunman was not publicly identified, but Shahin described him as a 38-year-old man with a history of mental illness and drug abuse.

Shots were reported shortly after 1 p.m. at the hotel in the busy district in Dearborn, a city of over 100,000 people just west and southwest of Detroit.

Police evacuated the hotel and surrounding businesses. Traffic into the busy downtown was blocked, Michigan State Police Lt. Mike Shaw said.

Earlier, state police tweeted that the “situation is active and dangerous” and that shots still “were being fired by the suspect.”

Officers in tactical gear could be seen, as well as emergency vehicles.

Some businesses near the hotel, including Dearborn Federal Savings Bank and Better Health Market, locked down with customers inside.

"There are police everywhere,” said Cheryl Seguin, a security officer at the bank. “Police from multiple jurisdictions and federal, county, state agencies. Multiple police cars and other types of units -- EMS, just about everything.”

Patrick Collins, manager of the Better Health Market, described seeing police, automatic weapons and ambulances. Three customers were inside the market.

“There’s a lot going on,” he said.

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Savage reported from Chicago. Williams reported from West Bloomfield, Michigan.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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