Man fires gun near school; shoots self

OSHTEMO TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) - A man shot himself to death in a wooded area near an apartment complex and school after brandishing a weapon and firing in the proximity of police officers in Oshtemo Township Friday morning.

Around 9 a.m., shots were fired at the Pinehurst Townhomes, off Stadium between 8th and 9th. As a deputy pulled into the complex, two shots were fired very close to him.

The area was sealed off and more officers came to the scene. A police dog saw the man in the woods just east of the apartment.

As he was approached, he shot himself. The Kalamazoo man, around 27 years old, does not live in the apartment complex, and investigators don't know why he was at this area.

He died a short time later.

The undersheriff told 24 Hour News 8 it's not clear if the man was shooting at the officer or merely shooting in the air. The officer was not injured and his cruiser was not damaged, he said.

The nearby Prairie Ridge Elementary School was locked down for a brief time.