Drive-by shooting suspects arrested in multi-agency effort

EASTPOINTE — Two men have been arrested in connection with a drive-by shooting on a home in Eastpointe that led multiple law enforcement agencies on a search spanning counties.

At press time, the suspects had not been named.

Eastpointe police were first alerted to the incident at around 1:10 a.m. June 25, when officers were dispatched to a home in the 16000 block of Forest Avenue, which is in the area of Stephens Road and Gratiot Avenue, to investigate an “assault with intent to murder.”

Upon their arrival, officers learned that the homeowner had been in a dispute with the new boyfriend of his ex-girlfriend. The suspect — a St. Clair County resident — had pulled up to the home, fired multiple rounds into the building, and fled, according to Eastpointe police. Multiple people were inside the house at the time of the shooting, including six children, but police said no one was injured.

According to the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office, investigators quickly deduced that the suspect was heading to his home at Americana Estates in Casco Township. Deputies with both the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office and the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office responded, as did the special response teams for both St. Clair County and Port Huron, and Richmond police officers.

Deputies with the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspect exiting his home with another man and a woman. The suspect was allegedly armed at the time. The two men reportedly saw the deputies and retreated into the home, where they barricaded themselves.

Eastpointe police obtained a search warrant for the home. According to the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office, once the men retreated into the building, the woman who was with them stayed outside to speak to police. The officers tried to negotiate, but were unsuccessful in persuading the men to exit the building.

The officers then used “additional less lethal tactics,” as described by the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office, and the two men surrendered to law enforcement without incident. There were no injuries.

According to Eastpointe police, multiple items of evidence were recovered from the scene. Both suspects were in custody at press time, and the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office was reviewing the case to decide on potential charges.

Eastpointe Police Lt. Alexander Holish said it’s unfortunate that the situation turned dangerous.

“Any verbal dispute should not lead to people using weapons against each other,” Holish said. “No life should be taken because someone feels disrespected or slighted in any way. It’s a horrific decision to blindly shoot into a house that is occupied by numerous innocent people.”