Veteran who shot officer at police station was gravely ill

Family: Veteran who shot cop was gravely ill
By Tony Briscoe and Mike Martindale
The Detroit News
November 13, 2012

Southfield — The man who walked into the Southfield police station Sunday and shot an officer before being killed by return fire had no known motive but was very ill, family members and authorities said Monday.

Police identified the man as Harold Joseph Collins, 64, a military veteran, and said he used a .380-caliber handgun.

"Based on the behavior of this individual, it is my opinion, and the opinion of investigating officers, that this person was struggling with some very serious internal issues," Southfield Police Chief Eric Hawkins said Monday at a news conference.

Collins' family said he had suffered for years from throat cancer and had been "very sick."

"He couldn't speak, he can't talk," said his former stepdaughter, Seretha Nobles, in a phone interview Monday from her Georgia home. "He has been very sick and suffering from cancer — throat cancer — for many years. He wasn't able to talk."
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