Family members have identified the man fatally shot by police Friday morning in Waterford Township as 56-year-old Steven Ballard.
Family members say Ballard, of Fenton, was bipolar and assaulted his 81-year-old mother. His brother said Ballard called him and threatened that he was going to shoot him.
Police said they got a call about 4 a.m. Friday about a domestic violence situation in the 6700 block of Whysall Road in Bloomfield Township. Police in Bloomfield Township said they got the call about 3:47 a.m. about a 56-year-old man assaulting his 81-year-old mother. They put out a BOL, or « be on the lookout » alert, for other departments to help catch the suspect and the suspect’s vehicle.
Steven Ballard (WDIV)
The suspect also was making threats toward a family in Waterford Township, police said. Police removed that Waterford family from a home for protection.
Waterford Township police then spotted the suspect driving a BMW. A chase ensued in a circle around Barkman Drive near Clintonville Road.
« He planned to come here and shoot up a resident with a shotgun, those were his words, » said Waterford Township police Chief Scott Underwood.
According to police, officers cornered the man and he pointed a shotgun at them. Underwood said they had no choice but to fire at him.
Robert Green, who lives in the Waterford neighborhood, said he witnessed police chasing the BMW.
« At first he wasn’t really going that fast. But then the second time around, yes, he started driving pretty erratically and once they cornered him it was just a few seconds later that I heard the gunshots, » said Green.
Underwood said the chase did not start until the suspect was in Waterford Township.
Police have confirmed the suspect was killed in the shooting after pulling a shotgun on officers. The man was being chased in a circle on Barkman Drive before police cornered him.
« It appears, preliminarily, that there was a shotgun pointed at one of the officers, our officers returned fire before they were shot, and the suspect is deceased, » said Underwood.
Police said officers had no choice but to fire at the man after he pulled the gun on them. They shot him before he was able to shoot at them.
« We hope that this doesn’t happen again. We kind of live on a dead-end street here, and yeah I was fearing what would happen at the end of this thing, » said Green.
No other injuries have been reported.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Department is handling the investigation.
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