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Man with rifle near Meridian Mall, police urge public to avoid area

MSUPD says man is now in custody, no longer threat

December 12, 2020
A police car on July 17, 2020.
A police car on July 17, 2020. —
Photo by Annie Barker | The State News

Meridian Township Police Department urged the public to avoid the Meridian Mall area, according to a Facebook post from the department.

"There is a man with a rifle in the area," the post said.

The area of Marsh Road and Central Park Drive was locked down, according to the post.

Michigan State Police assisted the Meridian Township Police Department, according to a recent tweet.

MSUPD later updated the post, stating that the man was in police custody. Public is still urged to avoid the area.

Meridian Township Police Department also confirmed in a Facebook post that the man was in custody.

MSUPD responded with patrol officers, as well as the Ingham Regional Special Response Team, according to MSUPD Capt. Chris Rozman.

The response team responds to extraordinary law enforcement situations in the county. According to Rozman, this included an armored rescue vehicle.

"I can confirm that the situation was successfully resolved and that we did not have any officers injured, or any officers that exchanged any gunfire," Rozman said.

The man with the rifle was not injured, Rozman said.

Meridian police announced a few hours later that the active police incident occurred as a result of a crash.

Meridian police responded to a two-car crash with injuries at noon Saturday, according to a statement from Meridian police. The driver of one vehicle, the man with the rifle, fled the scene.

The Okemos man, 32, barricaded himself on the roof of Chili's near the mall, the statement said. The man fired one round during the incident, but officers did not return fire.

The area was immediately locked down and civilians were moved to safety, the statement said.

Meridian police were also assisted by East Lansing Police Department and East Lansing Fire Department.

The investigation is ongoing. Community members with additional information on the incident should contact Meridian Police at (517) 853-4800 or submit an anonymous tip through the department's social media sites.

Editor's Note: This story was updated at 2:50 p.m. on Saturday to include comments from MSUPD, and updated again at 4:20 p.m. to include comments from Meridian Township Police Department.

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