LANSING, Mich. — It’s an issue that seems to have many people in Lansing on edge, auto theft. The Lansing Police Department has responded to several of these incidents so far in 2022.
Early Tuesday morning, there was a shooting between police officers and a suspect in the 2000 block of Malcolm X Street. The incident occurred after police obtained a search warrant after seeing stolen cars at the residence.
The shooting ended in a 31-year-old suspect being shot and killed by officers.
“Police found several stolen vehicles on the property and with the experience the city has had with shop chop and stolen vehicles we investigated things further,” said Lansing Police Chief Ellery Sosebee.
We asked police for statistics on how many auto thefts there have been in Lansing so far this year, and while they weren’t able to provide those numbers before this story aired, we were able to recap some of the previous car theft incidents we reported.
In March, nine men were arrested after taking five brand new cars off the General Motors Grand River Assembly Plant lot.
A few months later, two men were arrested after trying to steal cars off the same lot.
And just last month, Lansing police officers found seven stolen vehicles in an illegal chop shop.
During a press conference held on Tuesday, we asked Chief Sosebee how the police department is addressing auto thefts.
“I’ll rather not discuss that now, I will on another day or be happy to, but right now, I Just want to focus on the this incident,” Sosebee said.
While it's unclear how police are taking actions against auto theft, residents said they have their own solutions.
“I keep mine in the garage for sure,” said resident Carter Caswell.
