DETROIT, MICHIGAN — Within a 6-hour window, Detroit saw two random shootings and an armed robbery go down. There was a big difference in the outcome with one, however.
The first incident was a shooting that seems to have been unprovoked and random;
It was 1:50 a.m. when a 44-year-old man pulled up to his home on the 6500 block of Minock. That’s on Detroit’s west side, south of West Warren and east of Evergreen.
Police say the victim was approached by a man who pulled a gun and shot him. The victim was able to drive himself to a hospital, and police say he was listed in stable condition. Police continue to investigate the circumstances preceding the shooting, and offer no detailed suspect description.
This suspect has yet to be found.
The second incident occurred earlier on in the day, with two armed robbers going after an auto parts store;
At about 8 p.m., two men approached the counter of an auto parts store, on the 14600 block of West Seven Mile, just west of Hubbell, and demanded the clerk give them money from the cash register. Preliminary information from police said the armed robbery took place at a dollar store.
The clerk, a 26-year-old man, complied. Then they demanded cash from the safe, before fleeing the store with “an undisclosed amount” of money, police said.
Those two suspects are on the loose as well, and we hope that police can locate them to stop them from doing this again.
The third incident happened at an hour between the two listed above, but had a much different outcome;
At about 9:15 p.m., a 49-year-old man was approached on foot by an armed man on East McNichols at John R.
But police say the victim is a CPL holder who was also armed. He pulled his gun and fired shots that wounded the suspect, who fled on foot.
Officers soon located the suspect and transported him to the hospital, where he was listed in temporary serious condition. His age was not immediately available.
The difference is pretty clear. With two incidents, we see helpless victims that have no choice but to give in to the robbers’ demands (and the other person was shot). With the other, however, the intended victim was armed and prepared, and used his defensive tool to stop a deadly threat before any harm could come to him.
Some would call the armed robbery a success story, since no one was shot. How successful it truly is would come down to seeing whether or not the two criminals continued armed robberies. If the clerk were to fight back with a firearm, the outcome could go anyway. He could have died. He could have shot them. We’ll never know, but it’s not a bad idea to be prepared, even if you end up not using your firearm.
