WHITEHALL TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A well-being check at a hotel just outside Whitehall on Friday morning ended with the death of the man who deputies were sent to make sure was okay.
Around 4:52 a.m. the Muskegon County Sheriff's Office was called by a woman who said her 37-year-old son was staying at the Comfort Inn on West Holton Whitehall Road. The woman was afraid her son might try to harm himself.
Deputies were arrived to the hotel over ten minutes later and got into the man's room, Muskegon County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Austin Aamodt told FOX 17. They found the 37-year-old from Mears lying unresponsive with what appeared to be self-inflicted wounds. One deputy ran to the cruiser to grab medical supplies while the other deputy stayed with the man.
Before the deputy in the parking lot could get back inside, the other deputy retreated out of the building with the man armed with a box cutter in close pursuit. The deputy then opened fire at the man, hitting him several times.
The man was declared dead at the scene.
Investigators are still working on what happened inside the hotel room while the one deputy was inside, said Sgt. Aamodt.
The man was a guest at the hotel, but Sgt. Aamodt could not answer how long he'd been staying there.
The deputy who opened fire is on paid administrative leave. The investigation into the shooting was turned over to the District 3 Sheriff Task Force, which is made up of sheriff's offices from 17 counties.
