Two ELPD Officers Involved in Shooting at Lake Lansing Meijer on Monday Evening [UPDATED]
An update to this article has been added below.
Two officers from the East Lansing Police Department were involved in a shooting at the Lake Lansing Meijer, located at 1350 W. Lake Lansing Road in East Lansing, according to a press release from the City of East Lansing issued late Monday evening.
It is unclear from the press release if one or both officers fired shots at the individual. The press release only stated that “The officers encountered the subject and shots were fired.”
The shooting injured the individual, who was transported to a local hospital. The individual was in stable condition at the time of the press release.
The names of the two officers have not been released, but both have been put on paid administrative leave as per the policies of ELPD. Both officers have less than three years’ experience.
The officers arrived at the Lake Lansing Meijer around 6:35 p.m. after receiving a call.
According to the press release, “The caller indicated a male subject pulled a gun out of a car, stuck it in his pocket and went into the store.”
In Michigan, it is legal to open carry a gun without a permit with some limited exceptions, such as inside banks and houses of worship, and concealed carry is allowed with a permit. In September 2019, Michigan Radio reported that Meijer asked customers to refrain from open carry within their stores.
“The company’s new policy does not address concealed firearms and it does not ban openly carried ones,” wrote Virginia Gordan for Michigan Radio.
ELPD officers identified a person in the store that matched the description given by the caller, according to the press release.
“A foot pursuit occurred, with the subject and officers exiting out of the store,” the press release said, but it did not provide details on the actions that occurred after the officers identified the person and before the foot pursuit.
ELPD stated that a weapon was found at the scene and that the scene had been secured late last evening.
East Lansing Info first became aware of the incident through a tip from a community member and received another report of a large police presence outside the Lake Lansing Meijer.
Both an ELi reader and the press release confirm that police from Michigan State University Police Department, Lansing Police Department, Lansing Township Police Department, Meridian Township Police Department, and Michigan State Police were present on the scene.
ELi called Mayor Ron Bacon last evening about the incident and is awaiting a response. ELi also contacted ELPD Chief Kim Johnson and Lieutenant Chad Pride, who serves as a the department’s information officer.
Pride responded to ELi over email, saying that a press release was forthcoming. The City also sent an email to the media that Johnson would make a statement from the front desk of the East Lansing Police Department at 10:30 p.m. Monday evening.
Currently, the Michigan State Police are investigating the shooting, and they were not immediately available for comment.
UPDATE [April 26, 2022, at 1:30 p.m.]: East Lansing Mayor Ron Bacon responded to ELi to say that the investigation is ongoing and being handled by Michigan State Police (MSP) and more information may be forthcoming through official channels.
MSP responded to ELi by directing ELi to the MSP Twitter account. There, MSP said that the individual shot by ELPD officers yesterday was a 21-year-old male from Lansing, whose name was not yet being released.
The update stated that the individual shot was still hospitalized, in stable condition, and “in custody for unrelated charges and was also out on bond related to those charges.”