MSP probes shooting on I-696 that left motorist with wound to the arm

Michigan State Police closed a section of Interstate 696 Thursday night as they investigated a shooting that left a motorist hospitalized with a gunshot wound to his arm.

Authorities responded to eastbound I-696 near Van Dyke Avenue in Center Line about 5 p.m. after a witness called 911 to report seeing a shooting on the freeway. But they could not locate the victim, according to a statement.

About an hour later, MSP was notified by Ascension Macomb-Oakland Hospital personnel that a gunshot victim was being treated as the victim had driven himself to the facility.

“The victim advised he was shot in the arm on the freeway,” MSP said in a statement.

MSP closed that portion of I-696 for about three hours as detectives and troopers attempted to locate the shooting scene and gather evidence. They recovered several FN 5.7 shell casings from the area the motorist said he was shot at.

Authorities also found additional witnesses that were interviewed. However, police have not stated a scenario as to what transpired to spark the incident.

The investigation is ongoing, according to MSP.

The incident was the latest in a recent surge of interstate violence.

Michigan State Police, which has jurisdiction over the state’s freeways, last year investigated 67 freeway shootings, five fatal, on freeways in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties, according to a Detroit News report.

Officers from several agencies earlier this month relaunched Operation Brison, an inter-agency effort that was organized days after the June 17, 2021, fatal freeway shooting of 2-yearold Brison Christian.

Local police officials say the two-year wave of freeway shootings in 2020 and 2021 is unprecedented.