A Wayne State University police officer has died in a local hospital after he was shot in the head Nov. 22 while on patrol near campus.
A person of interest in the shooting was taken into custody by Detroit police following a brief manhunt in the Woodbridge area of Detroit.
WSU Officer Colin Rose was responding to complaints of vehicle thefts in a parking lot a few blocks from campus when he confronted a man on a blue bicycle last Tuesday night. At some point during that interaction, the suspect fired three shots, with at least one bullet striking Rose in the head. A second responding officer found Rose suffering from a serious gunshot wound.
Rose was rushed to a local hospital, where he underwent surgery and stayed in critical condition for hours. The following day, Rose was pronounced dead, reports the Associated Press.
Following the shooting, officers from the Detroit Police Department, Michigan State Police, Wayne County sheriff’s deputies and federal agents from several agencies participated in the search for the suspect.
The suspect in custody, 31-year-old DeAngelo Davis, was said to frequent the area of the shooting.
Wayne State University President M. Roy Wilson told media outlets the motive for the shooting was unclear, although police don’t think it was an ambush, according to the Associated Press.
Rose was a canine unit officer and had been with the WSU Police Department for five years. Rose was known in the community for frequently visiting schools with his canine, attending fallen officers’ funerals and reaching out to the families of slain officers.
“He is ingrained in the community,” Wayne State University Police Chief Anthony Holt said of Rose Tuesday. “He wants the community to be safe and he works at it. This is a real caring officer.”
All of Wayne State’s officers (there are more than 50 in the department) are fully certified police and are required to have a bachelor’s degree.
You can donate money that will go directly to the WSU Police Department in memory of Colin Rose, or you can donate at a GoFundMe page that was created by a WSU student. The money from the GoFundMe page will go directly to help with Rose’s funeral expenses.
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