Suspect sought after 4 Michigan State Police cruisers set on fire and shot at in Upper Peninsula

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. (AP) — Authorities said Wednesday that they are searching for a male suspected of shooting at and setting fire to four unoccupied Michigan State Police cruisers at one of the agency’s posts in the Upper Peninsula.

The suspect, a white male who was wearing camouflage in footage of the early Wednesday attack, is considered armed and dangerous, the agency said in a plea for the public’s help in identifying him.

Four cruisers were set on fire at the Sault Ste. Marie Post and some of them were struck by rifle rounds at around 3:30 a.m., said Lt. Mark Giannunzio, a spokesman for the state police district that includes the Sault Ste. Marie Post. He said investigators were still assessing the damage, but that three of the cruisers “are total losses.”

“Three of the four were basically destroyed by the fire. He shot at all of them and it’s a good chance all of them were hit,” he said.

The attack happened in an area of the post that is easily accessible to the public, Giannunzio said.

“He literally just pulls into the driveway leading into the post and that’s where those four vehicles were parked,” he said.

The suspect was last seen driving a silver Honda CRV southbound on the Interstate 75 Business Loop, Giannunzio said.

The state police posted four photos on X, formerly known as Twitter, showing the suspect and the Honda CRV.

The agency said the post would remain closed Wednesday in Sault Ste. Marie, a city at the northeastern tip of the Upper Peninsula, about 300 miles (482 kilometers) north of Detroit.

It asked anyone with information about the attack to contact the post at (906) 632-2217 or to call 911.