Man threatens to kill himself inside MGM Grand Detroit, police say

Alexandra R. Moses

Thursday, Jan. 27, 2000 | 11:10 a.m.

DETROIT - A 37-year Detroit Fire Department veteran threatened to kill himself while gambling at the MGM Grand Detroit Casino on Thursday, police said.

The man - a battalion chief with the department - made the threats about 10:30 a.m. while playing blackjack and was taken into custody, said Detroit Police Commander Gregory Gaskin.

The threat comes a day after an off-duty Oak Park police officer fatally shot himself at the MotorCity Casino after losing at blackjack in the high-stakes gambling area. Solomon Bell, a sergeant with the Oak Park Department of Public Safety, died at the casino Wednesday.

"I guess he lost all the money he had, and he made a statement to the dealer saying he was going to do the same thing as the gentlemen yesterday did," Gaskin said.

Gaskin said the MGM dealer alerted authorities and when police arrived, the man repeated his threats.

Gaskin said the man, who wasn't identified, didn't actually commit a crime, but "for his own safety we had him committed to the crisis center. ... He was talking about suicide."

The man was taken to Detroit Receiving Hospital for observation.

Detroit Fire Chief Ronald Naumann said he didn't really know what happened Thursday.

"Till I hear from the hospital I'm not sure how to comment," Naumann said. He said the man had been a battalion chief for five years.

Nancy Ziolkowski, vice president of marketing for MGM, said the casino couldn't comment on the matter, but said that MGM employees are trained to look out for problems and report them to officials.

"Our cast members have always been trained to look for any situation that might occur," she said.

Gaskin said authorities are concerned about copycats following Wednesday's suicide. "We really don't want to see that ... (but) it's not unexpected either," he said.

"I think everyone's sense is kind of heightened as a result of what happened yesterday."