GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — An officer-involved shooting on Grand Rapids' northeast side is under investigation.
According to Grand Rapids Police, the shooting happened Saturday morning near Union Ave and Innes St. Both the Grand Rapids Police Department and Michigan State Police are on scene investigating.
The first details of the shooting were released on social media.
GRPD and MSP on site of an officer involved shooting near Union & Innes. Media staging @ Heritage Ref Congregation 540 Crescent, west side of the lot.
— Grand Rapids Police (@GrandRapidsPD) December 16, 2023
GRPD Captain Michael Maycroft told FOX 17 during a media briefing that officers were dispatched to the area of Union Avenue and Lyon Street for a call of trouble with a person at 8:35 a.m. According to the caller, the person had been harassing people in the area for some time.
The two officers who arrived found the 19-year-old man just north in an alley off of Innes Street. They say he was acting erratically.
When the two officers started talking with him the man pulled out what police describe as an "edged weapon." When asked if that weapon was a knife, Captain Maycroft only elaborated it was, "a cutting weapon."
Police say the man then charged at one of the officers. Both officers fired at the man, with multiple rounds striking him. The officers then provided medical aid to the man until he could be transported to the hospital.
As of 11 a.m. Saturday, the man was in the hospital undergoing surgery.
The two Grand Rapids police officers are on administrative leave, pending the outcome of the investigation. Captain Maycroft says that is standard procedure. Both officers have more than 20 years of experience in law enforcement, per Captain Maycroft.
Michigan State Police is handling the investigation into the shooting. Union Avenue from Lyon Street to Crescent Street is expected to remain closed for some time.
East Grand Rapids Department of Public Safety assisted with the scene.
Captain Maycroft noted the shooting is unusual for the neighborhood. He says the usual complaint is for speeding vehicles.
"We were just sitting, drinking coffee, and then we just heard the gunshots," said Sam Badgley, who moved into the neighborhood this week. "We kind of like, looked at each other like, ‘Did we just hear that right?’”
A few hours after the shooting, Badgley walked her dog down Innes Street and neighbors told her about the rarity of the incident.
"It was definitely scary but, I don't know, life happens," said Badgley.
"I just assumed it was a fuse blown, said Ryan Rearick, a nearby resident. "And just a couple minutes later, the cops came."
Note: A previous version of this article identified the suspect as a 20-year-old. A press release from the Grand Rapids Police Department later corrected the suspect's age to 19.
