IONIA COUNTY, Mich. — On Sunday around 11:41 a.m., officers were dispatched to an armed robbery and felonious assault that took place at a convenience store on the 700 block of West Lincoln Avenue in Easton Township.
After reviewing surveillance footage, police say a man dressed in all black and carrying a katana sword walked into the store around 11:39 a.m. He attempted to use a rope to tie the door shut from the outside.
The store's clerk, a 56-year-old man from Lyons, confronted the man and asked him what was going on.
The suspect then pulled out his katana sword from a sheath and stabbed the clerk through the doorway.
The clerk tried to run to the back of the store, but the suspect followed him, and continued "slashing and hacking at the clerk's head and neck," police say.
The suspect pushed the clerk behind the counter, where he robbed the store of cigarettes and money from the cash register.
He then ran north from the store on foot, to a farm off Haynor Road.
After a confrontation and short standoff with police, the suspect surrendered. He was taken into custody by officers on the scene, police said.
The store's clerk was transported by ambulance to Spectrum Health Butterworth with critical injuries to his face and head. Police say he is in serious but stable condition.
The suspect was injured in the incident. Police say he was treated at Sparrow Hospital Ionia and is now lodged at the Ionia County Jail on charges of Armed Robbery and Felonious Assault. Additional charges will be reviewed by the Ionia County Prosecutor.
The suspect is a 36-year-old Ionia man. Police say he will not be identified until his arraignment.
The Ionia County Sheriff's Office, Ionia Department of Public Safety and Michigan State Police at the Lakeview Post all assisted on the scene.
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