DETROIT – William Troy Orblych and Michael Teague Orblych were shot and killed outside their home in Detroit on Thursday morning.
"The guys were right there in the street," family friend Thomas Anderson said. "I fired two shots ... into the streets at them. After I did that, they took off."
The brothers were ambushed outside their family home near Eaton and Ashton streets in Detroit. The brothers were with their mother, their brother, their sister and Anderson when the attack happened.
The family was returning home from the grocery store at about 11 p.m.
The mother, who is in her 70s and has a broken leg, was helped into the home. The two brothers went back outside to retrieve items from the car. That's when they were ambushed by at least two gunmen wearing masks.
The family was forced inside the home. Anderson, who was in the basement at the time, came upstairs with a firearm of his own. The gunmen fled outside, firing gunshots. Michael and William Orblych were struck and killed in the backyard of the home. Anderson returned gunfire, but it was took late.
"When I heard the shots, I fired back at them," Anderson said. "Then they took off running."
A detailed description of the suspects is not available. They were wearing hoodies and dark ski masks.
Police have a person of interest in custody and continue to search for the gunmen.
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