A man suspected of shoplifting died after being shot by a Southgate police officer outside a Meijer near the Fort Street Dream Cruise crowd, Saturday at about 3:45 p.m.
The grilling was still going when the police lights showed up—fast, close, and impossible to miss.
In Southgate, Michigan, a man suspected of shoplifting died Saturday after he was shot by a Southgate police officer outside of a Meijer. It happened steps away from the Fort Street Dream Cruise crowd, in the parking lot right off Fort Street around 3:45 p.m.
A man who witnessed the shooting described the moment as a blur. He said. “We were barbequing and the next thing you know. the cops came up and somebody was shot.” He asked that Local 4 not share his name. “It was pretty crazy,” he said. “It went by so quick, we didn’t even really know what was going on or why.”.
Southgate Police Chief Mark Mydlarz said officers were called to the Meijer around 3:45 p.m. for what they believed was retail fraud in progress—shoplifting. When police arrived, they confronted a man and a woman they suspected were stealing from the store.
Mydlarz said the confrontation escalated quickly. “The male subject ended up pulling out a sharp instrument of some type. At which time. he engaged our officers and one of our officers fired at least one round striking the male subject. ” Mydlarz said. The man was taken to the hospital and died there.
Local 4 was told the officer was not injured. The woman who was with the man is in police custody.
The Dream Cruise brought heavy staffing to the area, Mydlarz said. “We had a lot of manpower in for that (the dream cruise),” he said. “We are fortunate that because we had all this manpower in that we were able to quickly contain this and get the investigation going. but there is a lot going on. as you pointed out. and it’s taxing our officers no doubt.”.
People near the scene said they were still processing what they heard. Tammy Foster, who was attending the cruise, said, “Surprised, just shocked. Especially a big parking lot with so many people.”
Michigan State Police are investigating the shooting. As is protocol in these situations, the officer involved is on administrative leave.
By the time the crowd could make sense of what had happened, the parking lot had already shifted from celebration to investigation—leaving neighbors to replay the same unanswered question: how quickly a moment meant for barbequing turned into a deadly confrontation.
Southgate Michigan Meijer Fort Street Dream Cruise shoplifting suspect police shooting Mark Mydlarz Michigan State Police administrative leave