Armed suspect dead after shootout with law enforcement in Cass County
An exchange of gunfire with law enforcement resulted in the death of an armed suspect on Wednesday in Cass County, Michigan State Police said.
The circumstances leading up to the shooting started with a report of an armed man acting in a violent manner in a home on Davis Lake Street in the Southwest Michigan community of Jefferson Township.
The Cass County Sheriff's Office said they received two 911 calls about 12:08 p.m. on Wednesday that a man had entered the home after kicking in the front door. They were able to identify him and said the suspect had a handgun.
When deputies arrived, they found the two callers had run out the back door of the house and that the home was on fire.
The callers said they believed the suspect had run into a nearby wooded area.
At that point, deputies set up a security perimeter and requested assistance from other agencies. Officers then learned that a person who fit the suspect's description was in a field off Harris Street.
Deputies, along with Michigan State Police troopers and K-9 units, went to that area and saw the man along the railroad tracks. Troopers attempted to contact the suspect when shots were fired, the sheriff's office said.
Another report came in that said the suspect was near Pine Lake Street and Harris Street.
That's where deputies and troopers found the man in a field, and "an exchange of gunfire caused the suspect to become incapacitated," the sheriff's office said.
An ambulance was called to that location, but the man was pronounced dead.
The suspect was identified by deputies as Tony Duaine Artusi, 46, of Edwardsburg.
No law enforcement officers were injured, troopers said.
The investigation has been assigned to the Michigan State Police Investigative Response Team, and state police said they will submit the case to the Michigan Attorney General's office for review. Other agencies assisting on the call included Ontwa Township, Edwardsburg Police, Cassopolis Village Police, Pokagon Band Tribal Police, Edwardsburg Fire Department, SMACS Ambulance, and the Cass County Sheriff's Office Victim Services Unit.
The investigation is continuing. Officers ask that anyone with information that can assist them in the case contact the Cass County Sheriff's Office or the Michigan State Police, Niles Post.