Seven killed in ‘random’ Michigan attacks, suspected arrested
Seven people, including 14-year-old girl, and several others wounded in Michigan after a spree of “random acts of violence”
A man has been arrested in Michigan after the “random” killing of at least seven people, including a 14-year-old girl, and inuring several others in Michigan on Saturday night.
Police said a gunman in his mid-40s, who remained at large for much of Saturday night, had launched a spree of “random acts of violence”.
The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety said on its Facebook page that six people had been shot and killed and several others seriously wounded in three shootings in Kalamazoo County, in southwest Michigan.
Two people were shot outside an automotive dealer in Kalamazoo, about 140 miles west of Detroit, at around 10pm. A separate shooting occurred outside a restaurant in a neighbouring township, in which four people were killed. Several others were wounded.
Local media said early on Sunday a teen-aged girl who was shot had died, becoming the seventh fatality.
"We seem to be dealing with a worst-case scenario, someone driving around shooting," Kalamazoo County Undersheriff Paul Matyas told NBC News after the shootings. At least three people were wounded in the attacks.
“These appear to be random acts of violence,” said Jeff Hadley, chief of Kalamazoo public safety.
At 1.20am local time (0620 GMT) on Sunday Hadley told a local news station that a “strong suspect” was in connection over the shootings. “That person is being brought back [to public safety headquarters] and we’re trying to get information out as quick as possible to calm people’s fears up there in the community.”
The suspect was arrested “without confrontation”, the police chief said, and one weapon was recovered from the vehicle.
The carnage began early Saturday evening when Matyas said police were first called to a Kalamazoo County apartment building where a woman was shot multiple times before later being listed in serious condition. Hours later, they were called to the car dealership where two people were shot and killed, and a third was wounded.
Four people were killed at a third shooting scene in the Cracker Barrel parking lot, where the gunman opened fire on people in their cars after a brief conversation. A fifth person died later.
The victims and shooting scenes appeared to have no link apart from the suspect. No motive for the seemingly random attacks had been determined.
The victims' identities were not released.
