FeedsCanton police piece together murder-suicide
A Detroit police officer fatally shot his wife and then turned his firearm on himself at the Canton Public Library Tuesday morning, according to Canton police.
Canton Police Sgt. Mark Gajeski said investigators were still looking into what led to the shooting, which took place in the parking lot at about 9 a.m. Tuesday morning.
He said the 911 calls came in from frantic library patrons at about 9:15, reports of multiple shots fired. The Canton Police Department is essentially across the parking lot from the library; officers were soon on the scene.
“We found two people down,” he said. “There were two victims.”
Both were transported to local hospitals. Patricia Williams, 33, was pronounced dead when she arrived at Oakwood Hospital in Wayne. Ed Williams, 36, was on life support until afternoon and pronounced at about 2:30, said Gajeski.
He said police believe Patricia Williams had been on the way to the police department to file a domestic complaint. Instead, she parked her car in the library lot, near her husband’s, after he had called her and convinced her to talk.
Canton police investigators received several statements from witnesses indicating they saw the couple sitting and talking in the park area behind the library just prior to the shooting.
When the discussion took a turn for the worse, Patricia Williams attempted to flee, but was shot multiple times, Gajeski said. Then Ed Williams turned the gun on himself.
Both worked for the Detroit Police Department, according to department spokesperson John Roach. Patricia Williams was a patrol officer since 1995; she had worked in the northwest district until a recent hand injury caused her to be reassigned to restricted duty in the northeast district. Ed Williams was a detective. He had worked for the department since 1994.
Gajeski said Canton police had responded to their home for a domestic complaint twice during the past week.
“We had some contact with them,” he said. “It was pretty recent.”
On Sept. 19, Patricia Williams went to the Canton Police Department to file a domestic assault complaint, but changed her mind and refused to file a formal complaint, said Gajeski. She didn’t give officers her husband’s name, either.
A day later, an anonymous caller reported a possible domestic situation at their home on Wall Street, according to Gajeski. Police who responded said they didn’t see anyone at home, but found a note that caused them to contact Detroit police and place Edward Williams on the endangered missing person list, according to Canton police. They cancelled that alert later that day.
The next contact came Tuesday morning, when an acquaintance called police to tell them that Patricia Williams was on her way to the police department building to meet her husband in the lobby for a conversation, according to Gajeski.
Gajeski said even though the incident was a tragedy it could have been worse.
“The library parking lot was pretty full,” he said. “It was getting ready to open.”
Patricia Williams leaves behind a 10-year-old son from a previous relationship.
