DETROIT (WXYZ) — A suspect shot and killed himself on Wednesday as Detroit police were executing a search warrant in connection with a shooting from over the weekend.
The incident with the suspect and police happened just after 2 p.m. at a house in a neighborhood on Moross Road near Lansdowne Street.
Initially, police believed one of the officers fatally shot the suspect. After reviewing body camera video, investigators learned the 20-year-old suspect shot and killed himself when officers breached the bedroom he was in.
Watch the latest video report in the video below:
An officer fired a shot after the officer believed the suspect was aiming a gun at police, officials said. Evidence technicians are looking into where the officer’s shot landed, but the preliminary investigation shows the suspect was not hit by the second bullet.
Detroit police are still actively looking for a 16-year-old they consider armed and dangerous. The teen is believed to be the 20-year-old man’s brother.
Police say the two had a feud with someone and fired shots into a home on Waltham Street on Saturday.
The search warrant on Wednesday was executed at their mother's home. Once officers got inside the home on Moross on Wednesday, they say they found two women and a child. According to police, they had those three leave the house before they attempted to open a locked bedroom. That’s when the suspect took his own life and the officer fired the shot.
“After reviewing the body-worn camera, which I had not done at that time, it has become clear that the subject fatally shot himself,” Police Chief Todd Bettison said.
Bettison showed members of the media the body camera footage but is not releasing it to the public.
Police are identifying the 16-year-old person of interest as Demarco Ballard.
One woman who lives nearby the home on Moross told me she’s not surprised to hear this type of incident happened in her neighborhood.
"There's always something happening in this area every time it gets hot," Charita Rhodes said.
The officer who fired the shot during the raid has been placed on paid administrative leave.
“No police officer wakes up in the morning, we know that the possibility is there, but you don’t wake up with the intention of thinking I’m actually going to have to fire my weapon, especially at another human,” Bettison said. "My prayers go out to the family because it’s just a lot of loss. They’re going to need assistance, trauma-informed care support as well, so I hope that individuals wrap their arms around them.”
If you see Ballard, police say do not approach him and call 911.
** Editor's note: Police initially released an incorrect age for teen. We have updated this article to reflect that change.
