Wayne State University Officer Dies From Gunshot Wound

A Wayne State University police officer has died a day after he was shot in the head while on patrol near the campus in Detroit.

Officer Collin Rose, 29, died Wednesday about 5:45 p.m. at a hospital, Detroit police Sgt. Michael Woody said.

“This is a tragedy felt by all of us,” Wayne State President M. Roy Wilson said in a statement. “Collin served Wayne State with distinction, and we owe those he left behind our deepest sympathies and our strong support.”

Wilson said Rose, a five-year veteran of the university’s police force, is the only Wayne State officer killed in the line of duty.

Police said a suspect in the shooting was arrested late Tuesday night a few blocks from where Rose was shot, but no charges have been filed. The Detroit man in custody has had several run-ins with police.

Detroit Police Chief James Craig had said Rose was on duty around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday when he radioed to say he was investigating possible thefts of navigation systems from vehicles and that he was about to speak to someone on a bicycle. Officers who arrived on the scene found Rose injured on the ground.

Wayne State, which has more than 27,000 students, employs about 65 officers.

Authorities say ambush-style shootings on Sunday left one police officer dead in San Antonio, Texas, and another wounded in St. Louis, underscoring fears in the law enforcement community that the uniform is increasingly becoming a target.

But Wayne State Police Chief Anthony Holt said that wasn’t the case in Detroit on Tuesday.

“I don’t believe it was an ambush,” Holt said at a news conference Wednesday. “I don’t believe he was specifically targeted.”

Holt said no weapon has been recovered and that the investigation is ongoing. “We’re trying to put the pieces together,” he said.

University spokesman Matt Lockwood said Wednesday morning that Rose had undergone surgery and that his parents and fiancée were at his side.

Rose was a cadet with the New Baltimore Police Department and had his first job as an officer with the village of Richland, Lockwood said. Rose, a cyclist interested in dog training, graduated from Ferris State University in 2010 and was president of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and state Attorney General Bill Schuette offered condolences Wednesday night to Rose’s family and fellow officers.

“Officer Rose was doing his job, serving his community and protecting all of us, when he was tragically gunned down,” Schuette said in a statement. “Officer Rose was too young to have his life taken, and he leaves behind a family that will never be the same.”