Detroit, Michigan: Police Shoot and Kill Barricaded Man Who Pointed Rifle at Officers, Chief Says

Detroit police shot and killed a 50-year-old man on Tuesday afternoon, October 27, 2026, at the end of an hours long barricade at a home on Griggs on the west side of the city. Police Chief Todd Bettison, speaking at the scene, said the man pointed an assault rifle at officers after coming out of a back door with several guns, and officers fired. No officers were injured.

"It is a sad day," Bettison said, according to the Detroit Free Press. "Our officers did not wake up this morning wanting to do this."

How the day started on East Warren

Bettison said the incident began at a BP gas station on East Warren shortly before 10 a.m. on Tuesday. According to the chief, the man got into an altercation with the manager and the clerk at the station, brandished a weapon, and set his dog on them. He left the station before police arrived.

About an hour and a half later, officers traced the man to a home on Griggs near Margareta. Bettison said officers heard a gun being racked and saw the man go inside the home. Police secured a perimeter around the house and declared a barricaded gunman situation.

SWAT, negotiators and mental health teams called in

Bettison said police called in a SWAT team, negotiators and mental health response teams. FOX 2 Detroit, which was at the scene on Griggs during the standoff, reported that the situation went on for hours and that residents near the home could not get down their own street to reach their houses.

"I just got off work, and I was trying to get home, get down the street here, so they said it was a barricaded situation, so I don't know what's going on," resident Cedris Lamar told FOX 2.

Bettison said the man did not cooperate during hours of negotiation attempts. Officers eventually breached the front door of the home. According to the chief, the man then left through a back door carrying what Bettison described plainly as a lot of guns. At about 3:26 p.m., the man pointed an assault rifle at officers, and officers shot and killed him, Bettison said. The chief said the man also fired shots at some point during the incident.

Chief says he reviewed the body camera video

Bettison said he had reviewed body camera footage of the shooting and described the footage as disturbing. He said family members indicated the man may have been going through a mental health crisis. Police have not released the man's name.

Neighbors at the scene told the Free Press the man was peaceful, and said they would sometimes see him walking down the street with his grandchildren. In the days before his death, neighbors said, he had been driving around the block playing church music loudly from his car, which they described as unusual for him.

Detroit police had planned a briefing on the barricade for 5:30 p.m., FOX 2 reported while the scene was still active. Bettison gave his account at the scene later on Tuesday, and the Free Press published his description of the gas station altercation, the trace to the Griggs home, the negotiations and the shooting in the backyard.