Sandy MaloneKalamazoo, MI – Police fatally shot a man who set up an ambush for them at a plasma donation center on Tuesday morning.
Kalamazoo police said the incident began at about 11:30 a.m. on March 12 when they received a call reporting an active shooter at the Biomat USA Plasma Center on East Kalamazoo Avenue, WOOD reported.
A former employee had walked into the plasma donation center and fired a shot into the air, Biomat employee Lisa Waterhouse told MLive.com.
“He shot one shot up in the air and told us to, ‘Call 911, yea, call ‘em,’” Walterhouse said. “And then we ran.”
Donors inside the plasma center said employees unhooked them and sent them out a side door.
When police arrived at the business, the gunman was waiting for them just inside the doors, WOOD reported.
He started shooting at the officers, and the officers opened fire in return, according to Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Director Karianne Thomas.
Chief Thomas said one of the officer was shot multiple times, but all of the rounds went into body armor, according to WOOD.
The second officer on the scene continued firing at the suspect after his partner was down, and hit the gunman multiple times.
The gun battle lasted three minutes, Chief Thomas said.
“He was saved today by his bulletproof vest and the quick reaction of his fellow officer,” the chief said.
When backup officers arrived, they administered lifesaving first aid to the gunman. Despite best efforts of first responders, the suspect died, WOOD reported.
The officer who was shot in his ballistic vest was transported to the hospital for treatment but was quickly released.
No one else was wounded or injured during the incident, WOOD reported.
“We are so blessed that all our officers, all the employees of Biomat and their customers are going home safe tonight to their families,” Thomas said.
Police have not yet released the name of the wounded officer or the deceased suspect, according to WOOD.
The officer who was shot in the vest is a two-and-a-half-year veteran of the Kalamazoo police force.
The second officer has been with the department for nine months, according to a series of tweets from Chief Thomas.
Western Michigan University police, Kalamazoo County sheriff’s deputies, Kalamazoo Township police, and Portage police also responded to the scene to assist Kalamazoo officers.
Some students took to social media to blast Western Michigan University for not reaching out to the students at any point during the incident.