Police Situation Unfolds At Birmingham's Seaholm High School, Classes Cancelled
BIRMINGHAM (WWJ) - A police investigation forced administrators to cancel Tuesday's classes at Birmingham's Seaholm High School.
The situation unfolded just before 5 a.m. as a maintenance worker was arriving at the school, located on S. Cranbrook Road and Lincoln Street.
The worker told police he was approached by two men who held him at gunpoint and demanded his personal property before firing a shot into the air. The worker said he dropped his wallet, keys and cell phone and started to run. As he was running away, the suspects apparently fired another shot in his direction before fleeing the scene in his Grand Marquis.
The worker, who was not injured, just happened to have a second cell phone, which he used to call police and report the carjacking. Madison Heights police spotted the stolen Grand Marquis on southbound I-75 and a chase ensued into Detroit.
Police said the two suspects abandoned the vehicle near 7 Mile Road and Conant Street and took off on foot. Officers equipped with K9 units fanned out around the area and eventually took one of the suspects into custody. The second suspect remains at large.
The weapon allegedly used in the crime was also recovered near Gallagher and Hildale streets. Resident Michael Pow said he found the gun near the tire of his SUV as he was loading his kids in the vehicle.
"I already saw the police there this morning early, so I figured they were looking for something or somebody and then I saw the gun right there," Pow told WWJ's Vickie Thomas. "I thought somebody probably was running away from the police and probably hid it there."
Birmingham Public Schools Superintendent Daniel Nerad said school has been cancelled for the day so police can continue their investigation, uninterrupted. Students are not required to report to class.
"In making that judgment, my absolute assurance is there's no immediate threat to the building or to any of the individuals within the building. But in a situation like this, it's really important that we err on the side of caution and let the police do their work, because they're doing it on site, and we'll take the lead from police in terms of any additional actions that we should be taking. We anticipate opening tomorrow," Nerad said.
WWJ's Ron Dewey said crime scene tape is blocking the southwest side of high school where police are apparently looking for evidence. Students like Kenneth Allen, who were turned away when they showed up for classes, were shocked to hear what happened.
"You know, there's a lot of things going on today but this kind of stuff never happens in this area," Allen said.
Police said the detained suspect, an 18-year-old Detroit man who is believed to have fired both shots, is not cooperating and has not provided any information.
Stay with WWJ Newsradio 950 and CBSDetroit.com for the latest.
