Fire Millen
10-20-2010, 06:51 PM
Detroit Police: Man kills carjacker in shootout
Santiago Esparza and George Hunter / The Detroit News
Detroit — Video surveillance footage shows a 5-year-old girl's confusion as she watches her mother's boyfriend stumble around a gas station after he was shot fending off a would-be carjacker.
Police said a 36-year-old man was pumping gas into a black Cadillac Escalade shortly after 7 p.m. at a Citgo gas station on Fenkell near Schaefer when he was attacked by a man who wanted to steal the luxury truck. According to police, the carjacking victim returned fire and killed the man who tried to take his SUV.
The victim's girlfriend was inside the gas station buying a pop while her daughter was inside the SUV, according to the video.
A flash is seen outside the window; the woman flinches and starts to leave the station before ducking under a counter. She peeks through the window every few seconds.
The girl's mother is seen on the video running outside the station. Seconds later, she is seen re-entering with her daughter tucked under her arm.
As the victim stumbles around the station, the little girl stands in the aisle near the counter, staring at the scene. A customer comes up and hugs her.
The carjacker shot the victim, who fell to the ground, pulled out his own handgun and opened fire as the suspect entered the Escalade, witnesses said.
More than 20 shots were exchanged and the suspect was killed, said Detroit Police Cmdr. Steve Dolunt. The carjacking victim was hit multiple times, including in the face and body, police said.
The carjacking victim had a valid permit to carry a concealed weapon, according to police.
"This definitely looks like a random carjacking," Dolunt said. "There were no drugs found in the car, and (the suspect) didn't try to take any money; he was going after the SUV."
The victim was taken to an area hospital where he was listed in serious condition.
Witness Lonya Smoot said the incident was "devastating."
"I just played my (lottery) numbers and I heard someone say 'hit the floor'," said Smoot, 67, of Detroit. "(The victim's girlfriend) said, 'Oh, he's shot.' And then he came in here all bloody."
She said the woman ran outside the station and got her daughter and brought the girl back inside.
Video shows the victim stumbling into the gas station carrying two handguns and trying to make calls on his cellular phone. At one point, the man sets the guns down on a chips rack to make calls. He said he took the suspect's gun, Smoot said.
A Citgo employee who wouldn't give his name said the girlfriend was terrified.
"We kept her inside," the man said. "We locked the doors. She was screaming for her daughter."
Staff with the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office didn't have information about the carjacker's identity and said he appeared to be in his 20s.
As traumatic as the shootings were, Smoot said the incident could have been worse.
"God was on their side," she said of the mother and daughter. "They could have got shot, too."
Detroit Police Department online statistics indicate 11 robberies, six assaults, two thefts and an arson were reported in the neighborhood between Oct. 13-19. The statistics don't include homicides.
Investigators will turn the case over to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office for a decision on possible charges.
sepsarza@detnews.com
From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20101020/METRO01/10200400#ixzz12wTJYHgR
Santiago Esparza and George Hunter / The Detroit News
Detroit — Video surveillance footage shows a 5-year-old girl's confusion as she watches her mother's boyfriend stumble around a gas station after he was shot fending off a would-be carjacker.
Police said a 36-year-old man was pumping gas into a black Cadillac Escalade shortly after 7 p.m. at a Citgo gas station on Fenkell near Schaefer when he was attacked by a man who wanted to steal the luxury truck. According to police, the carjacking victim returned fire and killed the man who tried to take his SUV.
The victim's girlfriend was inside the gas station buying a pop while her daughter was inside the SUV, according to the video.
A flash is seen outside the window; the woman flinches and starts to leave the station before ducking under a counter. She peeks through the window every few seconds.
The girl's mother is seen on the video running outside the station. Seconds later, she is seen re-entering with her daughter tucked under her arm.
As the victim stumbles around the station, the little girl stands in the aisle near the counter, staring at the scene. A customer comes up and hugs her.
The carjacker shot the victim, who fell to the ground, pulled out his own handgun and opened fire as the suspect entered the Escalade, witnesses said.
More than 20 shots were exchanged and the suspect was killed, said Detroit Police Cmdr. Steve Dolunt. The carjacking victim was hit multiple times, including in the face and body, police said.
The carjacking victim had a valid permit to carry a concealed weapon, according to police.
"This definitely looks like a random carjacking," Dolunt said. "There were no drugs found in the car, and (the suspect) didn't try to take any money; he was going after the SUV."
The victim was taken to an area hospital where he was listed in serious condition.
Witness Lonya Smoot said the incident was "devastating."
"I just played my (lottery) numbers and I heard someone say 'hit the floor'," said Smoot, 67, of Detroit. "(The victim's girlfriend) said, 'Oh, he's shot.' And then he came in here all bloody."
She said the woman ran outside the station and got her daughter and brought the girl back inside.
Video shows the victim stumbling into the gas station carrying two handguns and trying to make calls on his cellular phone. At one point, the man sets the guns down on a chips rack to make calls. He said he took the suspect's gun, Smoot said.
A Citgo employee who wouldn't give his name said the girlfriend was terrified.
"We kept her inside," the man said. "We locked the doors. She was screaming for her daughter."
Staff with the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office didn't have information about the carjacker's identity and said he appeared to be in his 20s.
As traumatic as the shootings were, Smoot said the incident could have been worse.
"God was on their side," she said of the mother and daughter. "They could have got shot, too."
Detroit Police Department online statistics indicate 11 robberies, six assaults, two thefts and an arson were reported in the neighborhood between Oct. 13-19. The statistics don't include homicides.
Investigators will turn the case over to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office for a decision on possible charges.
sepsarza@detnews.com
From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20101020/METRO01/10200400#ixzz12wTJYHgR