As one of the two Detroit Police officers shot Sunday night remains hospitalized in serious condition, the father of the accused 19-year-old shooter is talking to 7 Action News about his son's sorrow for harming the officers and his fear moments before he fired the shotgun.
Vincent Redd says his son had no idea that sometime before his mother went to bed, she called 911 about a possible burglary that was occurring in a vacant house across the street from their home on Lesure Street near 8 Mile.
Redd says his son was already on high alert after someone broke into their screened porch area in back of their house last week.
There was another attempt last fall.
Then late last night, when the 19-year-old heard noises, Redd says he feared for the safety of his mother and 14-year-old brother who were asleep.
What the teen apparently didn't realize is that they were police officers with flashlights and not would-be burglars on their porch.
Police say the teen fired one blast of shotgun pellets through a window, grazing one officer in his arm and striking the other officer in his face.
Both officers are 25-years-old and work out of DPD's 12th precinct.
The officer who was grazed in the arm has been with Detroit Police for 18 months and he was able to pull his partner off the porch and radio for help.
The officer who was shot in the face has been with Detroit Police for two years. And Detroit Police James Craig told reporters Monday that that officer's family has expressed their thoughts and concern for the teen who pulled the trigger and his family. At last check, he was listed in serious condition after undergoing surgery in an attempt to remove one pellet that had been lodged in his jaw.
The officer who was grazed in the arm was treated and released from Sinai Grace Hospital, but spend hours with his partner before going home to continue to recover.
The 19-year-old accused shooter remains in custody pending possible charges.
Police say the young man does not have a criminal past.
