Man shot dead in lobby of Mich. police building

DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. — A man pulled a knife from his back pocket, defied orders to drop it, then charged a security guard before being shot dead in the lobby of a suburban Detroit police and court complex Thursday, said a witness who watched the scene unfold.

Jamal Collins, 33, of Detroit, told the Free Press that the man with the knife was in front of him near the metal detector at 20th District Court.

"The guy started charging to the (guard)," Collins said. "The (guard) fired a shot and shot him."

Then the man raised the knife, "like he was going to try and stab him," and the guard fired about five more rounds until the man went down, Collins said.

Police identified the man killed as Mark Henning, 48, of Dearborn Heights. No one else was injured in the incident, which occurred around 8:45 a.m. ET, and no one else is considered a suspect, officials said.

Henning had a “large knife” and attempted to avoid security measures, said Michigan State Police Lt. Michael Shaw, whose agency is investigating at the request of the Dearborn Heights Police Department. Henning confronted a security guard with the weapon, resulting in the guard shooting and killing him.

State police have not released a possible motive in the case.

“Detectives are still going through video evidence and interviewing the witnesses,” Shaw said in a news release issued Thursday evening.

The area where the shooting occurred has video surveillance, officials said.

Two schools in the area went on lockdown because of the incident, Dearborn Heights Mayor Daniel Paletko said.

“I’m glad no civilians or employees were injured in the situation,” he said.

State police processed the scene Thursday and interviewed people inside in the building at the time of the shooting. The Justice Center, on Michigan Avenue at Beech Daly, also houses the police department.

Dearborn Heights' police chief, Lee Gavin, said all the security guards have concealed pistol licenses, many are former police officers and they have trained with his department in the past.

The court, closed Thursday because of the shooting, is scheduled to be open Friday, authorities said.  An autopsy on Henning’s body also is scheduled Friday.

Edward Mandell, 53, of Dearborn Heights rushed to building after his wife called, whispering about a shooting. He said she works in the records department and is OK but heard the shots being fired.

“I’m devastated to hear that my Dearborn Heights Police Department was endangered. I’m sorry it had to end the way it did,” said Wayne County Commissioner Diane Webb, a Democrat from Livonia, Mich. “But it was better than having one of our officers hurt because that appears to (have been) his intention.

"The public should have a new appreciation for the dangers law enforcement officers face every day," she said.

Contributing: Eric D. Lawrence and Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press. Follow Robert Allen on Twitter: @rallenMI