BROWNSTOWN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — After a group of young adults had their car break down in the middle of the road in Brownstown Charter Township early Tuesday morning, an upset resident yelled at the group to leave his property and shot at them approximately ten times.
Around 4 a.m. Tuesday in the area of West Jefferson and Huron River Drive, Jonathan Hall's truck broke down in the middle of the road. He was headed to a gas station to use the restroom and grab gasoline during his early-morning fishing session with friends.
Even when he got gasoline, his car wouldn’t start, so he called his friend Mark Dow to help tow it. Brownstown Police noticed the stalled car and asked if Hall needed assistance, but Dow had already arrived and was ready to help his friend out. The police then left.
Moments later, a resident whose house they were in front of confronted the group of six, claiming they were on his property.
"I backed up to the truck, got out, started hooking [the truck] up, he started pointing his gun at us and started screaming," Dow explained.
According to the group, the man then fired at least three times from just feet away. That's when Dow called police.
"We just kind of ducked under our cars," Hall said.
While Dow was on the phone with police, the 44-year-old male suspect then allegedly fired more rounds from a shoulder-mounted short-barrel rifle.
“That actually blows my mind on how somebody can get so aggressive that they want to shoot people over a car being broke down," Dow said.
Thankfully no one was hit, and the suspect retreated into the home. A standoff ensued that lasted over an hour and a half, according to police. The man then surrendered.
The group of young adults whose car had broken down and who were just trying to help a friend remain shaken up.
"Life switches that fast, like snap of a finger," Hall said.
Dow's mother, Deena Dow, was on vacation at the time of the incident, but couldn't believe just how close her son came to being seriously injured, or worse.
"My son could’ve just got killed," she said. “It was pretty scary."
The suspect remains in custody at the Brownstown Police Department and a warrant request is in the process of being sent to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office for review.
