Holly MatkinDetroit, MI – One robber is dead and his accomplice is on the run, after the victim they targeted managed to open fire on them on the city’s west side.
The incident occurred at approximately 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, as the owner of a white Hyundai Santa Fe was leaving his Snowden Street residence, WDIV reported.
He was sitting in his vehicle when he was approached by two armed men who demanded he hand over his cash, according to WXYZ.
The vehicle owner got out acted as if he was heading inside to get money for them, but instead managed to gain control of the gun one of the robbers was carrying.
He opened fire on the attackers with the commandeered weapon, fatally hitting one of them in the process.
The second suspect jumped into the victim’s Hyundai and took off, WDIV reported.
The vehicle was later found abandoned approximately a block away, but the second suspect has not yet been located.
He is described as a heavyset black male, WXYZ reported.
Neighbors said that police swarmed the area soon after a volley of gunfire rang out, according to WDIV.
“[Someone] told me that she heard four or five gunshots back to back in succession,” resident Humphrey Woods told the news outlet. “I came to the front and I saw all the police cars.”
Other witnesses recalled having heard as many as 10 to 12 gunshots, WJBK reported.
Police have not confirmed how many rounds were fired during the incident.
The owner of the vehicle was being questioned by police, and officers were canvassing the neighborhood as part of the ongoing investigation into the shooting, according to WXYZ.