DETROIT — A hostage standoff in Grand Rapids, Mich., ended late Thursday when a man suspected of shooting seven people to death, including his daughter and another child, earlier in the day killed himself as the police were instructing him on how to surrender, the police said.
The man, identified as Rodrick S. Dantzler, shot himself once in the head at 11:30 p.m., about four hours after leading the police on a highway chase, crashing his vehicle and kicking in the back door of a nearby home, taking three occupants hostage, Chief Kevin Belk of the Grand Rapids Police Department said. Mr. Dantzler was pronounced dead at the scene.
The two hostages still in the house at that time, a man and a woman, were unharmed, as was a 53-year-old woman who had been released about two hours earlier, after he demanded and received Gatorade and cigarettes.
On Thursday afternoon, Mr. Dantzler killed five adults and two children, one of whom was his daughter, Chief Belk said. At least two of the women killed were former girlfriends, he said.
Later Mr. Dantzler also apparently shot two other people while fleeing from officers. Neither person suffered life-threatening injuries, the police said.
The events unfolded over more than eight hours. The police first said one child had been killed but later said two of the victims were children and five were adults.
Chief Belk said investigators did not know of a motive, but the killings appeared to be the result of a domestic dispute.
“It does not make sense,” Chief Belk told reporters shortly after the standoff ended. “I don’t think you can make sense out of something like this.”
The chaos began shortly before 3 p.m., when the police said a 34-year-old man called his mother and told her he had killed his wife. Public records show an address for Mr. Dantzler, who described himself on Facebook as a “tech building engineer,” on the street where the police arrived.
Within the next two hours, the police found two women and a 10-year-old girl dead at a home nearby and four more people, including another child, dead in the basement of another home.
“We do believe there were prior relationships with at least one person in each location,” Chief Belk said.
In the early evening, Mr. Dantzler opened fire at a downtown intersection, wounding one woman in the arm and putting numerous holes in the windshield of a police car, Chief Belk said. Another person was injured when Mr. Dantzler apparently shot through the back window of his vehicle. No officers were injured.
The two hostages still in the house at that time, a man and a woman, were unharmed, as was a 53-year-old woman who had been released about two hours earlier, after he demanded and received Gatorade and cigarettes.
On Thursday afternoon, Mr. Dantzler killed five adults and two children, one of whom was his daughter, Chief Belk said. At least two of the women killed were former girlfriends, he said.
Later Mr. Dantzler also apparently shot two other people while fleeing from officers. Neither person suffered life-threatening injuries, the police said.
The events unfolded over more than eight hours. The police first said one child had been killed but later said two of the victims were children and five were adults.
Chief Belk said investigators did not know of a motive, but the killings appeared to be the result of a domestic dispute.
“It does not make sense,” Chief Belk told reporters shortly after the standoff ended. “I don’t think you can make sense out of something like this.”
The chaos began shortly before 3 p.m., when the police said a 34-year-old man called his mother and told her he had killed his wife. Public records show an address for Mr. Dantzler, who described himself on Facebook as a “tech building engineer,” on the street where the police arrived.
Within the next two hours, the police found two women and a 10-year-old girl dead at a home nearby and four more people, including another child, dead in the basement of another home.
“We do believe there were prior relationships with at least one person in each location,” Chief Belk said.
In the early evening, Mr. Dantzler opened fire at a downtown intersection, wounding one woman in the arm and putting numerous holes in the windshield of a police car, Chief Belk said. Another person was injured when Mr. Dantzler apparently shot through the back window of his vehicle. No officers were injured.
I suspect the deck was stacked against him for his life to have this track record. I'm not saying he's a victim. But, yeah, he probably was victimized on some level by our society, he's a black man in Michigan. Not a lot of opportunity but a lot of hopelessness, rage and desperation to go around. Of course, this doesn't excuse anything, just a commentary on how the ills of our culture eventually end in tragedy, one way or another.
ReplyDeleteI suspect the deck was stacked against him for his life to have this track record. I'm not saying he's a victim. But, yeah, he probably was victimized on some level by our society, he's a black man in Michigan. Not a lot of opportunity but a lot of hopelessness, rage and desperation to go around. Of course, this doesn't excuse anything, just a commentary on how the ills of our culture eventually end in tragedy, one way or another.
ReplyDelete