Suspect killed in deputy-involved shooting after mask fight

[James48]

Source: ABC 12 , Flint, Michigan

DELTA TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WILX) - One man has died following an incident that began at a Quality Dairy located at 7120 Lansing Road in Dimondale around 6:45 a.m. Tuesday.

Michigan State Police said a masked man from Lansing, 77, and an unmasked man from Grand Ledge, Sean Ruis, 43, got into an altercation regarding wearing masks.

Police said the customer, Ruis, who was not wearing a mask was refused service by the store.

MSP said Ruis pulled out a knife and stabbed the 77-year-old Lansing man and then fled the scene from in a car.

(more at link)

Read more: https://www.abc12.com/2020/07/14/update-fight-over-masks-leads-to-stabbing-shooting-death/

---

Delta Township is near Lansing, Michigan.

An unmasked guy in a store is asked to leave-

A guy pulls out a knife and stabs the 77-year old masked customer standing there.

What is this country coming to?

More at link.

[Turbineguy]

1. Helping Trump.

[Roc2020]

2. Insanity. Minds are breaking crashing

and exploding because of lack of common sense. Condolences to the family of this senior.

[Lonestarblue]

3. Fox News and people like Rush Limbaugh are helping to stoke this insanity.

Is there nothing that can be done legally to curtail their dangerous propaganda? They’re broadcasting over public airwaves. It seems there should be some way to get around that whole free speech issue.

[reACTIONary]

20. No. And I certainly hope there isn't a way to get around this...

... "free speech issue". If there was, I guarantee you it wouldn't be used against Rush Limbaugh. It would be used against us.

[mtngirl47]

5. Not this time---he was killed (don't know if he was white or black)

Police later located the unmasked suspect at his home and the unmasked man then attempted to stab a deputy. The deputy then shot and killed the unmasked suspect.

[TeamPooka]

8. I'm fine with that outcome.

[PSPS]

13. I'm not.

[AZ8theist]

29. Me too. I'm OK with what occurred.

If you watch the video, the suspect is pulled over. Gets out of his car and approaches the officer. Then he engages in an assault. The officer is backing away when the suspect is shot.

I am absolutely HORRIFIED at police brutality in the country, but sorry, that shooting was completely justified. The moron got what was coming to him.

[Turbineguy]

38. "What shall we call you, pilgrim?"

"The Unmasked Suspect"

[vsrazdem]

6. There is no white male murderer. The store owner was not killed. The knife wielding Hispanic man

it appears was killed by a female officer when they tracked him down.

[yaesu]

7. Do not interact with people not wearing masks, report them, stay as far away as possible

if they bother you go to the nearest worker to call police. Some may be idiot tRumpsters but some may have serious mental illness

[TeamPooka]

9. best advice

[Bayard]

11. When I see one of the Un-Masked's heading my way

Down a grocery store aisle, I turn and head the other way. Some look like they enjoy the interaction.

[Mosby]

17. What about the employees?

What are they supposed to do?

[yaesu]

32. That's up to management & owners, store security. nt

[Roc2020]

18. I try to not even look at them

keep my head straight and keep my distance. No common sense = stupidity or mentally ill.

[BComplex]

10. Witness told a different story than the police.

Witness said woman officer chased suspect, then he "heard gunshots". Police report said suspect got out of car and approached officer with a knife.

No more lies. Suspect should have stood trial.

[stopdiggin]

12. both of these could be true (nt)

[PSPS]

14. They didn't have to kill him.

[Kaleva]

15. I think most of us here disagree.

Looks like a good shooting to me.

[Gore1FL]

16. I think the self-defense was justified.

I wish police didn't shoot-to-kill.

[PSPS]

23. If a cop can't disable a knife-wielding person without shooting to kill, they shouldn't be a cop.

[LisaL]

25. Oh give me a freaking break.

Knife is a deadly weapon. If you think you can wrestle with guy armed with a knife, who already stabbed someone, go right ahead.
Most people, including cops, would prefer not to.

[PSPS]

27. "would prefer not to"

Yeah, it's just so much easier to just blow the guy away. Won't even break a sweat!!111! Maybe you're unaware of this but most cops are issued batons and, if they're trained properly (something a lot of departments ignore,) it's very easy to disable a person with a knife using only the baton. Fictional TV and movies aren't reality, you know.

[LisaL]

28. Like I said, if somebody attacks you with a knife, you are welcome to do whatever.

To bad 77 year old he stabbed didn't manage some ninja moves.

[muriel_volestrangler]

33. " it's very easy to disable a person with a knife using only the baton"

and yet, after that, you claim "Fictional TV and movies aren't reality, you know."

I'm sure this is why there's that well-known saying "never bring a knife to a baton fight".

[Kaleva]

37. What do you base that opinion on?

What is your field of expertise on this matter?

[ansible]

40. Are you goddamn serious??!

Did you even watch the bodycam footage?? Jesus Christ, Demolition Man isn't a documentary!

[Cha]

42. Wow.. suicide by cop.. all bc of not wanting to

wear a mask.

I wasn't going to watch but braced myself..

TY, ansible

[NutmegYankee]

45. Knife defense only works if an amateur attacks from above.

If the attacker holds the knife low and attacks from below, there is no good defense. I watched the video. That was as clean of a shoot as they get. He got so close that I'm surprised she didn't get stabbed. I think the vest was what stopped it.

[sarisataka]

19. No they didn't,

He could have dropped the knife.

[PSPS]

24. They could have shot him in the foot. He would have dropped the knife then.

[LisaL]

26. Foot? Why not a pinkie finger? When somebody with a knife is after you, you shoot them in a foot.

Then tell us how it went.

[sarisataka]

30. The foot? That would hurt.

She could have shot the blade of the knife and knocked it out of his hand. I saw the Lone Ranger do that once.

[LisaL]

35. She tried to shoot the knife out of his hand but it didn't work.

But seriously, she screamed at him to drop the weapon, and he run at her with a knife and a screwdriver. Even her shooting at him multiple times didn't stop him at first.

[RhodeIslandOne]

36. LOL

I needed that.

[Jedi Guy]

39. That right there is some Hollywood-level nonsense.

It cracks me up when someone trots out the "well, they could've shot the gun out of his hand" or "they could have shot him in the leg." That trick-shot stuff is Hollywood nonsense and attempting it would be profoundly stupid. Just about anyone who trains to use a gun is trained to aim for center mass, as that's the largest and easiest target to hit. No one trains to shoot feet or shoot weapons out of someone's hands. Leave that Annie Oakley garbage in movies where it belongs.

[NutmegYankee]

51. She shot the guy several times right in the chest, he kept coming.

There's a reason we call it "Hollywood vs. reality".

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

52. re: "...shot him in the foot."

"He would have dropped the knife then." I have known cops, Marine MPs and competitive pistol marksmen who wouldn't be rolling the dice on that.


In most jurisdictions that would also be illegal. Most states have laws and court precedents favoring the following:
-A deadly weapon may be drawn only in the face of imminent threat of death or serious harm.
-If you need to fire a gun in self defense, you should be shooting to kill.
-Warning shots, shooting to wound, etc are all evidence supporting that you were not in fear for life and were not justified in shooting at all.


Very few people have the skill required to hit a small moving target within a few seconds even when not hopped on adrenaline as they would be when being attacked with a knife.


Additional details: I support BLM. I support ending the death penalty. I support keeping violent felons in prison until their 6' trips straight down are complete.

[muriel_volestrangler]

21. There's both police bodycam and a separate house video at the link now

The police description seems accurate - the dead man has a knife in one hand, screwdriver in the other, and advanced on the police officer (he got out of his car and approached her as soon as he pulled over). She told him repeatedly to drop the weapon, he didn't, and got within inches of her before she fired. He had no intention of standing trial, and I don't think the officer was left with any choice.

[BComplex]

31. I had not seen the video when I posted. I was only going by the article, which had two different

stories on how it went down. I was basing my post on that. If a separate witness says that it happened one way, and a cop report says it happened a different way, I say maybe nobody needs to shoot until we know what happened. This might be a "good shooting". We've seen a whole helluvalot of them lately that weren't.

[LisaL]

34. There is a video linked in the article.

He run at her with a knife in one hand and a screwdriver in the other.

[Cha]

41. It seems like suicide by cop.. after he stabbed

the 77 year old customer, who was wearing a mask, in the Quality Dairy store.

Over a damn MASK! My god! Hope the 77 year old guy pulls through!

[LisaL]

22. Hah?

Sounds like woman officer didn't manage to shoot him, he got into his car and drove until another cop stopped him.

[NutmegYankee]

43. video from a house camera shows the knife guy attacked.

Link to tweet

There are bad shootings, but I don't see this as one at all. She was being chased by this guy and he kept trying to use his weapons even after being shot.

[JI7]

44. And she gave many warnings even while he continued to approach her

[NutmegYankee]

47. I'm amazed she didn't get stabbed.

The body cam shows he slashed her at one point.

[JI7]

46. What happened to the 77 year old man that was stabbed ?

[Judi Lynn]

48. Critical condition in the hospital.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/michigan-man-refused-service-not-wearing-mask-stabs-customer-fatally-n1233810
(Very clear police woman's body camera video at link.)

Michigan man refused service for not wearing mask stabs customer, is fatally shot by deputy

A squabble over coronavirus safeguards at a convenience store in Delta Township ends with the stabbing of a 77-year-old man and the death of Sean Ernest Ruis.

July 14, 2020, 3:01 PM CDT / Updated July 14, 2020, 11:15 PM CDT
By David K. Li

A Michigan man refused service for not wearing a mask amid the coronavirus pandemic early Tuesday morning stabbed another customer before he was shot to death by a sheriff's deputy, police said.

Sean Ernest Ruis, 43, walked into Quality Dairy in Windsor Township — just outside Lansing and 100 miles west of Detroit — at about 6:45 a.m. without wearing a mask.

A 77-year-old customer asked Ruis to cover his face and the store refused service before asking him to leave, Michigan State Police said in a statement. He then stabbed that customer who asked him to put on a mask, authorities said.

Police issued an alert with a description of Ruis' car and his license plate number, authorities said. A short time later, an Eaton County Sheriff's deputy pulled over Ruis on a residential street in neighboring Delta Township at 7:13 a.m., leading to the brief, fatal encounter, official said.

"The suspect immediately exits his vehicle and walks towards the deputy with a knife in hand to attack the deputy," according to a statement from state police. "The deputy attempted to increase distance by backing up and subsequently shot and injured the suspect. The suspect was transported to a local hospital and died during surgery."

More:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/michigan-man-refused-service-not-wearing-mask-stabs-customer-fatally-n1233810

[Judi Lynn]

49. Here's a still photo taken from the police woman's body cam video, showing how close he was:

MDOT employee killed by police after mask dispute at Lansing-area store
Beth LeBlanc, The Detroit NewsPublished 11:49 a.m. ET July 14, 2020 | Updated 7:19 p.m. ET July 14, 2020

Story:

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/07/14/man-killed-police-mask-dispute-lansing-area-store/112234476/


Looks exactly as if he intended to kill her.

[Judi Lynn]

50. Found a Fox article, saying "Suspect shot to death who attacked deputy had 2 knives, screwdriver"

Suspect shot to death who attacked deputy had 2 knives, screwdriver after stabbing man over wearing mask
Published 11 hours ago Updated 9 hours ago Michigan FOX 2 Detroit

. . .


" (Ruis) stabbed the individual inside the Quality Dairy store," Reich said. "That individual was a 77-year-old man."

Ruis then got in his car and drove toward Delta Township but Eaton County Sheriff's Deputies were hot on his trail and, at about 7:13 Tuesday morning, a traffic stop was made.

"The suspect immediately gets out of the car and attacks the deputy with that knife," said Lt. Brian Oleksyk, Michigan State Police.

That deputy, a 22-year veteran with Eaton County, retreats but Ruis came after her with two knives and a screwdriver.

"She defends herself from being attacked with that knife and she shoots the suspect," said Oleksyk.

More:
https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/suspect-shot-to-death-who-attacked-deputy-had-2-knives-screwdriver-after-stabbing-man-over-wearing-mask