DETROIT _ A Wayne State University police officer was shot near campus Tuesday night and was rushed to Detroit Receiving Hospital while Detroit police helped search for the shooter.
"The officer is very critical," said Wayne State Police Chief Anthony Holt during a news conference with Wayne State President M. Roy Wilson "He's in surgery right now."
Holt said the officer was working an area off campus when he stopped to investigate a subject. A backup officer was en route and found the officer on the ground with a gunshot wound.
According to Detroit Police Department spokesman Michael Woody, the shooting happened around 6:45 p.m. Police said the officer was shot once in the head.
The officer was shot in front of the aging Lincoln Apartments, in sight of the MotorCity Casino's shimmering neon lights in an area of weedy vacant lots.
At least three shots were fired, according to Wayne State officials.
A dozen police cars as well as emergency vehicles surrounded the area, and officers had the entire block closed in front of the building. The manager of the apartments, Betty Evans, said she witnessed the shooting. She said she had words with a man on a bicycle, who didn't live there, and called 911 when he wouldn't leave the area.
Detroit police are searching for a male in his 40s with a full beard. He was wearing a white T-shirt with white and black letter, a skull cap and a brown jacket.
"He was outside, in front. The officer was trying to get his hands behind his back. We heard a shot and the officer went down, and we heard two more shots," Evans said. "I'm just praying everything works out. ... I feel sorry for the officer. I hate the crime that's going on in the city."
Wilson said, "This is one of the worse calls a president of a university can get."
Holt said the officer was the first WSU officer to ever be shot on duty and was a K9 officer who had been with the department for about five years.
He called the 29-year-old officer "one of the best officers I know."
"He does a lot of community service. He reaches out to kids. This is a real member of the community."
Holt said all police agencies pulled together after the shooting. Detroit Police Chief James Craig issued a picture of the bicycle that is believed to be used by the shooter.
Holt said of the suspect: "We will get you. You'll be in our custody."
He said the officer was in critical condition and was undergoing surgery.
Just east of the apartments are rows of townhouses, built a few years ago to replace former high-rise public housing structures that were notorious two decades ago for drug dealing and muggings. In the alley behind the apartments, two men walked around the police blockade and one called out, "This is Thanksgiving. Catch his butt!" referring to the shooter.
Overhead, police helicopters circled while a team of detectives in plain jackets and knit caps knocked on the door of a church a block from the shooting scene. When there was no answer, they peered around the area, then strode off into the darkness.
An alert posted by Wayne State said that the officer was injured but offered no other details. An email listserv managed by residents of the Woodbridge neighborhood, near where the shooting occurred, said officers advised residents to stay indoors while they searched for the shooter.
