Police in standoff with suspect in seven murders

By David Bailey | Reuters

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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich (Reuters) - A man suspected of killing seven people including two children in Michigan on Thursday later invaded a house after a police chase and was holding one person hostage, authorities said.

The bodies of seven apparent shooting victims were earlier found at two different locations in Grand Rapids, setting off a manhunt for suspected gunman Rodrick Dantzler with police helicopters, state police and sheriff's deputies.

The gunman later invaded a house in northeast Grand Rapids and apparently took two hostages before releasing one of them.

"He has released one of the hostages that he was holding, there is a 53 year-old woman who lived at the house who has been released," Grand Rapids Police Chief Kevin Belk said.

Police had set up a perimeter and were negotiating with the suspect.

Grand Rapids police spokesman Sergeant Jon Wu said the hostages were believed to be strangers to Dantzler, and Michigan State Police said they had provided a helicopter and were assisting Grand Rapids police.

"They're obviously trying to resolve the situation as safely as possible without harm to anyone else," Michigan State Police Lieutenant Kyle Bowman said.

Mayor George Heartwell said Grand Rapids police, Kent County sheriff and Michigan state police were working on the case, including the department's hostage negotiators.

"This is so uncharacteristic of Grand Rapids. We are all stunned about it," Heartwell said in a telephone interview.

Belk said the seven bodies were found earlier at two locations. Two adult women and a girl were found dead at one location and three adults and another child at the second location. He had earlier said only one child was killed.

Officers in a police cruiser spotted Dantzler in a Lincoln Town Car within hours of the discovery of the bodies, and the officers began a pursuit that led through downtown Grand Rapids, Wu said.

Dantzler fired at the officers multiple times and police returned fire. A woman bystander in a car was shot and wounded in the arm in the melee, but her wounds were not life-threatening, Wu said.

FBI special agent Sandra Berchtold said the bureau was assisting Grand Rapids Police Department, but she declined to provide more information.

(Writing by David Bailey; Additional Reporting by Rick Wilson and Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

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