PORT HURON, Mich. – A father was arrested Thursday for allegedly shooting his three children, killing one, in Port Huron.
It happened at an apartment complex on Glenview Court near the intersection of Krafft Road and 24th Avenue (M-25) on Sept. 11 at around 6 a.m.
A 17-year-old boy, a 13-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl were taken to a hospital with gunshot wounds.
Police said the 17-year-old died from his injuries. The 13-year-old and 12-year-old remain in critical condition.
The children’s father, a 44-year-old man, was arrested.
Police said that before officers responded to the scene, the children’s mother and their 20-year-old sibling fought the man during the shooting to prevent further harm.
Neighbors told Local 4 that the man was a maintenance worker at the complex. He was also charged with indecent exposure earlier this year.
The man pleaded guilty in the case and was scheduled to be sentenced Thursday morning, before the shooting happened.
Neighbors said that they were woken up to the sound of the children’s mother calling for help.
“At around 6 a.m. this morning, a woman came running to our apartment door asking for help, very frantic. She was bleeding all over the sidewalk,” said Gabriel Baker, a resident of the apartment complex.
Several neighbors began making calls to 911.
Jennifer Goddard and her husband rushed to help.
“I shot up and ran out the front door, and as I was running out the front door, I met the 12-year-old boy at the end of my sidewalk,” Goddard said. “He was just covered in blood.”
Goddard said she tried to comfort the injured 12-year-old while police arrived and arrested the man.
The neighbor also explained that she was not only neighbors with the man, but had known him since high school, and she was in disbelief to learn what had happened.
“It was just sad,” Goddard said. “Devastating that it’s the kids.”
Port Huron schools sent a letter to parents confirming the 17-year-old who was killed, as well as the 12- and 13-year-olds who were injured, were all students in the district.
Counseling teams were on site at the schools on Thursday for students in need of support.
“Gun violence is prominent, and it is an issue in our country, and to say it’s not is to just be ignorant about the situation,” Baker said. “When it hits this close to home, you can’t really deny that fact.”
The investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information can contact the Port Huron Police Department at 810-984-8415 or the Port Huron Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit at 810-984-5383.
You can watch the full press conference below:
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