Police to seek attempted murder charges in Warren shootout

Warren — An attempted armed robbery in Warren early Wednesday morning ended with shots fired in a Warren neighborhood and the arrest of four suspects, police said.

Police are now preparing a warrant request on felony charges including attempted murder, said Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer.

Three male suspects are from Detroit and are 17 and 18 years old. The oldest, a 21-year-old male, is from Warren.

The incident began about 5:50 a.m. on the 8100 block of Prospect, north of Eight Mile and east of Van Dyke.

Dwyer said that as the male victim walked toward his home, four men approached him from behind in a blue, four-door vehicle.

The men, masked and armed, demanded the man hand over his property.

Instead, the man ran home and told his mother that people outside were trying to shoot him.

Mom — who has a concealed pistol license, police say — stepped out of the house with her gun, and the men allegedly fired shots toward the home.

Dwyer said that "no one should ever put themselves in harm's way, or confront armed and dangerous suspects."

"We were on our way there anyway," Dwyer said, talking about the mother's actions. "It's fortunate there were no serious injuries or death" in the shootout. While he disagreed with the mother's actions, Dwyer said "I don't see pursuing charges."

When police located a vehicle matching the description in the area of Nine Mile and Hoover, Dwyer said, the driver of the vehicle did not pull over. He hit a fire hydrant a short time later, bringing the vehicle to a stop. Two of the four inside were immediately arrested, while a third man was found hiding a short distance away. Police recovered a handgun during the arrests. 

The fourth suspect, the 17-year-old, turned himself in later at Warren Police Department, accompanied by his father, Dwyer said.

Dwyer said police would seek warrants later Wednesday or early Thursday from the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office.