Photo: Luke Moorehead

Jackson, Mich. (WKHM, Luke Moorehead) — A joint press conference was held Tuesday morning at the City of Jackson Council Chambers regarding the officer-involved shooting incident that occurred in the City of Jackson on Wednesday, November 6th. The incident resulted in the death of the suspect, 31-year-old Jacob Hikes. Those who spoke at the conference included the Director of the City’s Police Services, Elmer Hitt, Jackson County Sheriff Gary Schuette, Lenawee County Sheriff Troy Bevier, and State Police Lieutenant Rene Gonzalez, who was accompanied by Detective Sergeant Isaac Mills.

Lenawee County Sheriff Bevier explained that the situation began with a fight between Hikes and his father, where Hikes hit his father in the mouth with a firearm, and when his older brother tried to intervene, their altercation caused the gun to go off, shooting Hikes’ brother in the process. Hikes then left the residence in a vehicle to head toward Jackson for reasons currently unknown, threatening to shoot if he’s pursued by police. Once authorities in Jackson became aware of Hikes’ presence in the area, a pursuit was launched, and a shootout between Hikes and authorities followed, with Hikes also throwing multiple pipe bombs out of his vehicle. Elmer Hitt discussed some of the details of the pursuit:

“At one point, the suspect’s vehicle came to a stop on Elizabeth Street near Perrine Street. This is where the patrol vehicle was shot multiple times by the suspect, and Sergeant Stanton was shot one time by a bullet. Following the exchange of gunfire, this time the suspect fled again in the vehicle. A short time later, the vehicle came to a stop near the intersection of Southeast Ave. and East Washington Ave. There was further exchange of gunfire at that location, and the suspect was shortly after determined to be down on the ground. Officers involved approached the suspect and determined he had received gunshot wounds. Paramedics and the ambulance were called to the scene. They quickly transported the suspect to the hospital here in Jackson (Henry Ford), and the suspect was pronounced deceased a short time after arrival.” – Director of the City of Jackson’s Police Services, Elmer Hitt

Jackson County Sheriff Gary Schuette detailed the efforts of county units:

“Sergeant Scott Watson was working that day and was responsible for administrating the supervisory detail of the county sheriff’s office.
He was overseeing dispatch, being on the lookout for the suspect. Now, we knew that this was a shooting, so we knew the nature of that. He contacted Detective Easter in an effort to try and determine where the suspect may be going to be at the time, so we got to search our records and try and figure that out. Detective Easter then contacted Detective Ubersaw as he was on the road and attempted to have her look up information on the suspect as well. Enter the vehicle into the camera system so that we can get real-time information about where the subject may be located, as well as to look into information and these police records to make a determination on where this thing might be heading.” – Jackson County Sheriff Gary Schuette

More pipe bombs were found in Hikes’ vehicle after the incident. However, no evidence has been found as of yet that Hikes had any documented plan to use these pipe bombs, and there also has not been any evidence that these are connected to any external crime or terrorist group. While still recovering, the sergeant who was shot during the exchange of gunfire was said to have been out of the hospital for quite some time and in relatively good shape. A full investigation into the incident from Michigan State Police is still currently ongoing, as explained by Lieutenant Rene Gonzalez.

“Detective Sergeant Mills, along with other detectives, are still working this case. Following up on leads, they’ve been speaking to other witnesses, and garnering all that before they send their packet to the prosecutor’s office and they will review what, if any, charges will be brought for the officer-involved shooting.” – MSP Lieutenant Rene Gonzalez