Shooting Inside a Spirit Halloween Store in Madison Heights: Detroit Man, 21, Dies and a Suspect Is in Custody
Police in Madison Heights, in Oakland County, Michigan, say a 21-year-old Detroit man was shot multiple times inside a Spirit Halloween store on John R Road shortly after 2 p.m. on October 30 and later died at a local hospital.
Police said the shooting followed a brief altercation between the victim and another 21-year-old man from Oak Park, and that the two knew each other. Officers gave first aid at the scene before paramedics took the victim to a hospital, where he died of his injuries.
Police located the Oak Park man shortly afterward and recovered a 9mm handgun believed to have been used in the shooting. They said he was assaulted by bystanders while being taken into custody and suffered non-life-threatening injuries; he was taken to a different local hospital and will remain in police custody after treatment.
Based on the evidence gathered so far, investigators say this was not a random act of violence and there is no known ongoing threat to public safety. Detectives will submit the investigation to the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office for review and anticipate seeking criminal charges; any charges are subject to that review, and everyone involved is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
The suspect's family offered a different account. His wife, Alanna Benson, told the Detroit Free Press that her husband, a concealed pistol license holder, was pushing a stroller with their three young children and about to leave the store when a man he had history with approached, confronted him and reached into a pocket, and that her husband fired to protect his family. Police have not confirmed that account, and how the case is charged will be decided by prosecutors and the courts.
The store closed for the rest of Friday. Police ask anyone who witnessed the shooting or has video to contact Detective Sergeant Kari Randolph at 248-837-2737.
Hours later the same day, a separate shooting inside a Spirit Halloween store in Fairfield, California, left one person dead and six injured. Authorities in both states say there is no indication the two incidents are connected.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：密歇根州 Madison Heights 市警察局（资料图），该局正在调查这起商店枪击案。照片：Lrgjr72，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / The Madison Heights, Michigan, Police Department (file photo), whose officers are investigating the store shooting. Photo by Lrgjr72, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
