Man is arrested in the weekend killing of a Detroit-area police officer

MELVINDALE, Mich. (AP) — The suspect in the fatal shooting of a Detroit-area police officer was arrested a day after he fled the shooting scene shirtless while riding a bike, authorities said.

Michael Lopez, 44, was arrested Monday evening on Detroit’s southwest side, the Michigan State Police’s Second District said in a post on X. He is the suspect in the death of Melvindale Officer Mohamed Said, who was killed Sunday while responding to a call about a suspicious person near a car wash.

Said was shot during a physical struggle with Lopez, Melvindale police Chief Robert Kennaley said.

Lopez had not been formally charged as of Tuesday morning, according to online court records. The state police said its “investigation continues and will be forwarded to the Wayne County Prosecutor this week.”

Said, 23, had been a Melvindale officer for only 14 months. He was the third Michigan police officer killed in the line of duty in less than a month.

Lopez was paroled on June 22, according to Michigan Department of Corrections records. He previously served 12 years for carjacking and assaulting an officer in 2011, records show.