DETROIT – Gunfire erupted early Tuesday morning between an off-duty River Rouge police officer and two groups of men who were trying to steal tires off his truck.
Local 4 cameras captured the aftermath on Asbury Park on the city's west side: A GMC pickup truck up on a jack, missing a tire, and shattered glass in the roadway from bullets breaking windows.
Detroit police said the first confrontation broke out when the sergeant got a call from neighbors telling him his pickup truck had been stolen and was a few miles away being stripped.
The off-duty officer grabbed his gun and badge and went to track down the men.
The officer managed to hold one of the men in custody as the others fled. However, they came back, guns drawn, demanding the officer release their accomplice.
Multiple shots rang out, but miraculously the officer wasn't hit.
It's unclear if any of the other men where hit as they sped away.
Neighbor Tommy Bray Jr. said crime is so bad in the area that he wear body armor. He and his wife were getting their children ready for school when they heard the commotion.
"I was standing in the doorway I thought someone was going to be shot right in front of my face," Bray said.