74-year-old man shot during robbery attempt on Detroit's west side

Bullet goes through Henry Roberson's hand

DETROIT – A 74-year-old Detroit man found himself face to face with a gunman in his own driveway, but he wasn't handing over anything without a fight.

The gunman confronted the Ford Motor Co. retiree Friday morning near Eight Mile and Greenfield roads on Detroit's west side. The man, who describes himself as "a tough old bird," got shot during the struggle.

"I turned the corner and there he was," Henry Roberson said. "He told me, 'Walk over here.' He said, 'Turn around. I'm going to rob you and take your money.'"

Roberson knew the robber wouldn't find any cash on him.

"I made up my mind that he was going to shoot me," Roberson said. "It was me or him, and I was going to try to take his gun away from him. By the time I did that, pow. He shot me."

The bullet went straight through Roberson's left hand.

"I have a couple (of) crushed bones in my fingers," Roberson said. "They were going to put some pins in it today, but they changed their mind, and they said they would do surgery."

Roberson said when the gunman took off, he called 911. As he waited for paramedics, he called his children.

"I called them on the phone and told them I got shot," Roberson said. "They know I'm a tough old bird."

Roberson was carjacked five years ago and said he wasn't going to be a victim again.

"They did it to me once before, and I wasn't going to let them get away with it this time," Roberson said. "He's going to get what's coming to him one day."

You can watch Priya Mann's full story in the video posted above.


About the Authors

Priya joined WDIV-Local 4 in 2013 as a reporter and fill-in anchor. Education: B.A. in Communications/Post Grad in Advanced Journalism

Derick is the Lead Digital Editor for ClickOnDetroit and has been with Local 4 News since April 2013. Derick specializes in breaking news, crime and local sports.

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