Man shot and killed by police outside Woodhaven Walmart is identified as Charles David Brown, Jr.

WOODHAVEN, Mich. (WXYZ) - The man shot and killed by police outside the Woodhaven Walmart has been identified as Charles David Brown, Jr.

Police in Woodhaven shot and killed him after they say he used his car as a weapon. Officers say he hit a police car and then tried to run down an officer.

It happened after police approached the young man outside the Walmart store on West Road because they believed he and a woman he was with had been stealing clothes and drinks inside the store.

Police say Brown was carrying a screw driver and would not drop it.

After encountering police, Brown jumped into his older model Oldsmobile.

Both officers opened fire. Brown was hit, drove a short distance and stopped. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

"I was right there", said Barbara Theaker, an eye witness who says she saw the man drive right at the police. "My heart was pounding, I was like numb."

While all this was happening the woman who was with the suspect ran away.

They don't know why Brown did what sparked the shooting. But they say he does have a long history of larceny.

The police chief says this kind of call is the worst kind of call - a simple shoplifting that ends with a shooting and a death.

There will be an investigation into the shooting, that is routine. However the Chief says he has no doubt his officers feared for their lives when the young suspect drove right at them.

Investigators with Michigan State police are looking into what happened. They say there were several witnesses and they are waiting for autopsy and toxicology reports.

The woman who was with Brown is said to be his girlfriend. She ran off as they both left the store, but was arrested a short time later. She is in custody pending possible retail theft charges. Her name has not been released.