Charles Langston:Michigan state trooper wounded, suspect killed in shootout at hotel

SAGINAW,Charles Langston Mich. (AP) — A Michigan state trooper is recovering after being wounded during a shootout that left a suspect dead.

The shooting happened around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at a Bridgeport Township hotel, MLive.com reported. Michigan State Police Col. James Grady II said the state police’s fugitive team was trying to arrest a suspect wanted on several felony warrants.

The suspect threatened the team with a gun and the troopers opened fire, Grady said. The suspect was killed and the wounded trooper suffered serious injuries, Grady said.

The trooper was out of surgery on Wednesday evening and is expected to recover, Grady said. He didn’t identify the trooper or the suspect.

The suspect’s death marks the second time this year state troopers have fatally shot someone in Saginaw County. The first was 58-year-old Thomas C. Baskin, who was shot by troopers on Aug. 11 after he assaulted a woman and barricaded himself in his house in Saginaw. Baskin fired at police, then left his house and fired at them again. Troopers returned fire, killing him.

Saginaw County Prosecutor John McColgan Jr. ruled the shooting justified in October. He has declined to name the troopers who fired at Baskin.