At a moment where gun control is the talk of the town—as it always is following a mass shooting in the U.S.—a Michigan woman reminds us that we not only need reformed laws to prevent mass shootings, but also to prevent possibly deadly shootings like this one where a Home Depot parking lot was shot up in an attempt to stop shoplifters from getting away.
Auburn Hills police are investigating the 47-year-old amateur vigilante with a concealed carry permit who reportedly saw a man being followed by loss prevention officers as he left the Home Depot, according to police. As the man tried to escape in an SUV, the woman pulled out a 9mm handgun and fired a few shots in the parking lot full of people.
The suspected shoplifters, two men in their 40s, white and black, respectively, managed to escape, although police think their SUV’s tire was hit and flattened by one of the woman’s bullets. Police aren’t sure if they’re going to charge the woman, since Michigan apparently has a “fleeing-felon rule” which Gawker says, “allows citizens to use deadly force to apprehend someone in the process of committing a felony.”
An Auburn Hills police spokeswoman told WXYZ that citizens witnessing a crime should, “gather information, write down information, provide it to the officers when they arrive.”
[via Salon]
