Rodrick Shonte Dantzler, 34, killed himself last night after a long stand off with police. During the standoff, Dantzler held several hostages after killing seven people. Two of those he allegedly killed were his ex-girlfriend and their daughter.
“We’d have much rather got the suspect to surrender peaceably … but that was not the situation,” said Grand Rapids Police Chief Kevin Belk.
Dantzler led police on a high-speed chase through the city after the rampage, which started at 3 pm. He killed victims at two different locations: four at one home and another three in a different part of the city. Two of the victims were children, with one of them being a 10-year old girl.
“At this point, we don’t know the motive,” Belk said late Thursday.
“This is a rare occurrence anywhere,” said Mayor George Heartwell. “A homicide like this is exceedingly rare. It’s an awful situation.”
During the chase, a pedestrian was hit by Dantzler’s car, and others were hit in the cross-fire. He even drove down the highway the wrong way with over a dozen police cars chasing him. His car crashed when his tires were shot from beneath him. From that point, he continued running on foot.
Neighbors were surprised to hear that Dantzler was involved in an incident like this one, and reflected on their interactions with him.
“We’ve talked with the person they assumed did the shootings,” Mary Lahuis said. “You would see him going up and down the street — and you’d hear him going up and down the street.”
“Just last night, my kids went over there swimming, and I went over with them,” said Lisa Schender, a neighbor.
Dantzler’s alleged Facebook page says that he was studying to become a tech building engineer. He also belonged to a cause against animal cruelty.
