A shooter, who authorities believe chose victims at random opened fire on people in the parking lots of a western Michigan apartment complex, car dealership and restaurant, killing at least seven, including a 14-year-old girl, authorities said.
A 45-year-old man was arrested early yesterday in downtown Kalamazoo following a massive manhunt after the shootings began early Saturday evening, authorities said.
Kalamazoo County Undersheriff Paul Matyas described a terrifying rampage that began at about 6pm outside an apartment complex in Richland Township on the eastern edge of Kalamazoo County, where a woman was shot multiple times and seriously wounded.
Photo: EPA
A little more than four hours later and 24km away, a father and son were fatally shot while looking at cars at a car dealership, Matyas said.
Fifteen minutes after that, five people, including the 14-year-old, were gunned down in the parking lot of a Cracker Barrel restaurant along Interstate 94, Matyas said.
Authorities did not believe the shootings were targeted at specific people, Matyas said, describing them as “our worst-case scenario.’’
“These are random murders,” he said.
The suspect was arrested about 12:40am, authorities said.
The man did not resist when approached by law enforcement officers and weapons were found in his vehicle, Matyas said.
“The threat to the public is over,” Matyas said.
Kalamazoo, with a population of about 75,000, is about 260km west of Detroit. It is home to Western Michigan University and the headquarters of popular craft beer maker Bell’s Brewery. The city is also known for the anonymously funded Kalamazoo Promise program, which has paid college tuition of students who graduate from Kalamazoo public schools for more than a decade.
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