A 64-year-old man walked into a southeastern Michigan police station today and opened fire, precipitating a shootout that ended with him dead and a police officer wounded, police said.

The man, who was not immediately identified, entered the building that houses the Southfield Police Department around 2:20 p.m. with a handgun and pointed it at an officer sitting behind bullet-proof glass, said police spokesman Lt. Nick Loussia.

Refusing requests to put down the gun, the man started firing at the desk officer, according to Loussia. The first officer to respond - a sergeant in his 50s who has been with the Southfield force for more than 25 years - was shot in the shoulder, said Loussia.

That officer and others returned fire, hitting the shooter. Both wounded men were treated at the scene and moved to a nearby hospital, the police spokesman said.

The 64-year-old later died from his injuries at the hospital. Loussia said authorities do not know why the man opened fire at the police station.

The wounded officer, meanwhile, is in stable condition. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the officer and his family," Loussia said.

A similar incident less than two years ago about 15 miles to the southeast, in Detroit, prompted police in Southfield to take additional security precautions, according to Loussia. In that case, a 38-year-old man accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl wounded four officers when he opened fire in a Detroit police station, before he himself was shot dead.

In addition to protective glass around the desk area, only the lobby of the police station in Southfield - a city of about 72,000 people - is open to public, said Loussia.