DETROIT, MI (WXYZ) — A suspected carjacker is recovering in the hospital this morning after being shot twice by Detroit Police.
The police-involved shooting happened Tuesday night in the area of Strathmore and Chalfonte on Detroit's West Side.
Investigators say it happened after a Facebook marketplace deal went bad. Police say a man wanted to buy sneakers. He met the seller out in public when the seller then forced him and his two children out of the car before stealing it.
"They're fine, no other injuries other than just being scared," Detroit's Assistant Police Chief Charles Fitzgerald said shortly after the DPD's Special Operations Unit spotted the suspect in the stolen car.
Police say they tried to stop him but he drove his car towards them. That's when Fitzgerald says officers shot the man.
"He was struck two times and was taken to a local hospital. He's in temporary serious condition," he said.
Fitzgerald says it brings up an important safety warning when it comes to shopping on sites like Facebook marketplace and that the location of the sale is key.
Police say a boy in Farmington Hills was conned out $170 after trying to buy a PlayStation in a local parking lot. The man gave him an empty box instead.
"Unfortunately they tried to do what's right, doing it in a public place," Farmington Hills police said. "Go to a police precinct. Go to one of our police precincts. Go to the parking lot arrange that deal."
Although the sale went bad for the boy in Farmington Hills he did get a happy ending. The officers gifted the boy a PS4, headsets, and gaming gift cards.
