OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – A woman was seriously wounded in a random carjacking shooting outside a shopping plaza in Orion Township before deputies tracked down and arrested the suspect roughly 90 minutes later, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said.
Bouchard said investigators believe the man had been sitting outside the plaza watching for a victim before targeting the woman, who was walking through the parking lot with her young son.
“It looks very random,” Bouchard said. “It looks like he was sitting here looking for someone that would be his victim to steal their car.”
Suspect approached victim in parking lot
According to investigators, the suspect approached the woman in the parking lot, confronted her, and shot her before taking her vehicle and fleeing the area.
Police said they immediately issued a broadcast alert for the stolen vehicle and used the department’s FLOCK camera system to track its movements northbound from the scene.
Bouchard credited the technology and a large-scale law enforcement response for the quick arrest.
“It was an absolute deal-maker in this situation because it gave us a pointer in which direction he was headed,” Bouchard said.
Multi-unit search leads to Groveland Township
Deputies from multiple units, including detectives, the sheriff’s fugitive apprehension team, auto theft investigators, K-9 units, drones, and a helicopter, were deployed to search for the suspect.
The stolen vehicle was later spotted in Groveland Township, where a brief chase ended after the suspect crashed and fled on foot, Bouchard said. An undercover detective eventually located and arrested the man.
“It was about an hour and 25 minutes from the time we got the call of the shooting until the handcuffs were on him,” Bouchard said.
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Suspect on probation for prior assault
The suspect, identified only as a 25-year-old man from Ann Arbor, was on probation for assault with intent to do great bodily harm, according to Bouchard.
He has not yet been formally charged.
The woman, who is in her 40s, suffered a gunshot wound near her hip and lost a significant amount of blood.
She was undergoing surgery Tuesday night, but police said they were optimistic about her recovery.
The woman’s young son witnessed the attack before running back into a nearby store for help.
“It’s pretty upsetting on lots of levels for anybody, let alone a kid,” Bouchard said.
The investigation remains ongoing.