Suspected shooter flees police, crashes in Warren
Four people were taken into custody Monday afternoon following a shooting and a short police pursuit in Hazel Park that ended when the driver crashed in neighboring Warren, according to police.
The two men who were shot at were not struck and no one was seriously hurt in the rollover crash.
According to a preliminary investigation, one of the people inside a 2007 red Dodge Nitro fired about a dozen shots at the other motorists about 2 p.m. in the area of Woodward Heights Boulevard and Couzens Avenue in Ha
zel Park. Police believe the shootings was the result of a road rage incident.
“We have the four people in custody,” said Hazel Park Police Chief Brian Buchholz. “Two of them are in the hospital with non life-threatening injuries.”
The victims — a 29-year-old man and a 59-year-old man, both from Hazel Park — were behind the suspect vehicle.
According to police, the Dodge Nitro was spotted by Hazel Park officers near Eight Mile and John R roads, where an attempt was made to stop it. The vehicle fled through Hazel Park and into Detroit before heading through Warren.
During the pursuit, police said a semi-automatic handgun was thrown from the vehicle and later recovered.
The fleeing driver entered a residential neighborhood near Nine Mile Road and Van Dyke Avenue in Warren, where he lost control and it crashed near Federal and Hupp avenues. He was taken into custody at the scene.
Three of the vehicle’s occupants somehow made it over to a local hospital, where they were seeking medical treatment from the crash.
At the crash scene, police searched the Nitro and recovered two pistols, including the gun they believe was used in the shooting.
Fortunately, the vehicle did not strike any pedestrians during the chase or when it crashed.
The suspects are described as a 19-year-old man, a 19-year-old female, and two 18-year-old males, all from Detroit.
Warren Police Commissioners Bill Dwyer said his officers were monitoring the situation, but all of the charges against the suspects are expected to filed by the Hazel Park Police Department, whose officers are still investigating the incident.
Hazel Park police plan to seek charges, including fleeing and eluding and assault, from the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office.