By Bradley Massman and Isaac Ritchey
mlive.com
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Fearful for her life, a woman pleaded for help as a man armed with a pistol entered her Wyoming home and began shooting.
Gunshots rang out as the woman urged a Kent County dispatcher to send help.
Two Wyoming police officers arrived at the scene within minutes of the initial 911 call to find 31-year-old Luis Hernan Fernandez Sandoval inside the residence holding a gun.
Officers shot Sandoval, striking him twice. Sandoval died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Both police officers were cleared of any criminal wrongdoing on Tuesday, Oct. 14 , Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker announced. The decision came about one month after a domestic disturbance ended violently.
The incident unfolded around 1 a.m. on Sept. 16 when officers responded to a report of an unwanted man at a home on Lemyra Street SE.
Officers were told Sandoval violated a protective order and may have fired a gun inside the residence.
Becker on Tuesday released a five-minute audio clip from the 911 call made that night.
It starts with a woman telling a dispatcher that Sandoval is outside of her home, trying to open the door. She believed Sandoval was there looking for his wife – the woman’s niece.
“Just keep the door closed and locked,” the dispatcher said. “Does he usually have a gun on him?”
“I think my niece told me that he had (bought) one a few months back,” the woman replies.
Then, gunfire erupts.
“He’s shooting, he’s shooting,” the woman says as her breathing gets heavy. “He’s in the house. Please hurry up.”
More gunshots are fired.
“Was somebody just shot?” the dispatcher asks. “Ma’am what’s going on?”
Frantic, the woman continues to plead with the dispatcher for assistance.
“Please, he has a gun,” the woman said. “He’s looking for my niece. Hurry up, please!”
The two responding officers can then be heard shouting commands.
Police shot Sandoval and hit him twice. However, Becker said Sandoval died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Becker said the officers’ response and actions were justified.
“Quite frankly, I think (the officers) should be commended for how they handled this situation,” Becker said.
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