SPARTA, Mich. — A 20-year-old man is dead and a 59-year-old woman is hurt and recovering after a shooting at apartments in Sparta.
The Kent County Sheriff's Office said Roberta Thomas, 59, was shot Monday afternoon by Joryan Blackwell, 20. Blackwell was Thomas's son. Thomas survived and is recovering. Blackwell is dead. Authorities believe he shot himself.
The shooting happened at apartments in Sparta, across the street from Tesa Tape.
After being shot, Thomas fled to the Sparta Village Office, where staff helped aid her while waiting for emergency responders.
"We were able to stop the bleeding, while we were waiting. She was here for quite a while. We were able to relay information from her, as the shooting victim, back to the people who were on the scene," Jim Lower, Sparta's village manager, said.
The Sparta Municipal Complex sign says it's dedicated to neighbors — past, present, and future. That dedication was tested when Thomas fled to the village office doors after she was shot.
"We're here to help people, and I'm kind of proud of the fact that she felt like this was a safe place to go. Because at the time she thought somebody was after her," Lower said.
Initial reports described a chaotic scene, with concerns about an active shooter near Sparta Middle School on South Union.
Watch: Son dead, mother hurt after Sparta apartment shooting; Kent County investigators examine mental health link
That was not the case. The sheriff's office used its real time crime center to determine what actually happened.
"We were fortunate enough to have our real time crime center monitoring the situation. They were able to pull up some school cameras nearby, to identify our suspect and confirm rather quickly that there was indeed only one shooter and he was deceased at the time," the Kent County Sheriff Bryan Muir said.
The sheriff acknowledged the challenge investigators face when multiple 911 calls present conflicting accounts.
"It's difficult to pull away with a lesson. Because any time you get multiple 911 calls all reporting the same thing ... we have a lot of different perspectives. We had some callers who only heard things, but didn't see the actual shooting. We had people that saw the shooting, but couldn't tell where the shot was fired from. So it's difficult for law enforcement to sort through all that information and make a timely, accurate assumption as to what occurred," Muir said.
The investigation is ongoing. Because the person believed to have pulled the trigger is dead, the sheriff's office has a team working the case. The sheriff's office extended condolences to those impacted.
The sheriff said the situation is believed to potentially be connected to mental health concerns. Crisis resources are available by calling 988.
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