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Wayne State Officer Recovering After Being Shot In Head; Suspect Under Interrogation

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - A Wayne State University police officer who was shot in the head while on patrol near campus has been released from surgery, and authorities are interrogating a suspect about the attack.

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Officer Collin Rose (Credit: WSUPD)

The officer is identified as 29-year-old Collin Rose. Officials say he remains hospitalized in critical condition; his fiancee and parents are with him.

Rose, a five-year veteran of the department who works in the canine unit, was on duty Tuesday evening when he radioed to say he was investigating possible thefts of navigation systems from cars and SUVs, and was about to speak to someone apparently on a bike, according to Detroit Police Chief James Craig.

Officers who arrived on the scene, in the area of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Trumbull, found Rose injured on the ground, Craig said.

Wayne State University Police Chief Tony Holt said a man first identified as a person of interest is now considered a suspect. He has been identified by Michigan State Police as Deangelo Davis.

Detroit Police Assistant Chief Steve Dolunt said the officer was not shot with his own gun; police are still looking for the weapon used. A $5,000 reward is being offered for any information leading to the recovery of the weapon.

The university's president, M. Roy Wilson, said Rose was recovering from surgery Tuesday night and that family members were with him but that he still had a tough road ahead of him; he remains in critical condition.

"We just spoke to the surgeons and they just said he still was not totally out of the woods," Wilson said.

Shortly after the shooting, which occurred around 6:30 p.m., several dozen armed officers were seen in the residential area of Woodbridge within two blocks of the campus in what law enforcement described as a massive manhunt.

Police were searching for an African-American man in his 40s with a full beard, a university statement posted on the school's website said Tuesday night. It added he was wearing a white T-shirt with white and black lettering, a skull cap and a brown jacket.

Using that description and talking to residents near the scene, police arrested Davis without incident about three blocks from where the shooting happened.

Wilson said they still don't know what the motive was for the shooting, "whether it was an ambush or something different." He cited four recent incidents around the country in which law enforcement officers were shot, adding, "That's something that's crossed our minds."

Wayne State has more than 27,000 students and is located in the heart of Detroit. Wilson said the school employs around 65 officers, some of whom help patrol areas around the campus.

The shootings of police officers in Texas and Missouri on Sunday were the latest in what law enforcement officials say is an alarming spike in ambush-style attacks. A San Antonio detective was fatally shot, and a St. Louis officer was shot twice in the face but survived.

Police officers were also shot and injured during traffic stops in Sanibel, Florida, and Gladstone, Missouri, on Sunday night, but authorities have not suggested those were targeted attacks.

One-third of police officers shot to death on the job this year were purposely targeted by their assailant, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

Rose graduated from Ferris State University in 2010 and was his fraternity's president. He's involved in cycling and a dog-training club, and is due to be married in October 2017. Rose's first job as an officer was with the village of Richland and he was a cadet with the New Baltimore Police Department, as well.

The shooting was the first in nearly 40 years for Wayne State University, said Wilson.

"The last time a Wayne State officer was shot was 36 years ago and he was shot in the leg. Many of these officers are younger than 36, and so they haven't dealt with something like this," he said. "They have a lot to try to take in."

TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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