Teen Killed, Another Hurt in White Lake Garage Break-In Shooting

A quiet neighborhood in White Lake Township turned into a crime scene early Tuesday morning, July 8th, after a homeowner reportedly opened fire on a group of teenagers he says were breaking into his garage.

According to police, the homeowner confronted a group of seven teens after they allegedly triggered motion-activated security cameras on his property just after midnight.

The confrontation escalated, and seven shots were fired, hitting two of the teens, reports FOX 2 Detroit News.

One of the teenagers died while being transported to the hospital. The other was injured and is recovering.

The rest of the group scattered, but police say they have taken an 18-year-old and one juvenile into custody and are still searching for others involved.

“People thought it was fireworks,” said Brandi, a neighbor. “No dogs went off, nobody woke up, nobody knew nothing.”

Brandi said her surveillance system captured audio of the incident but declined to share the video. She added that the same garage had been targeted for break-ins three times in the past year.

“I hope you all get caught,” Brandy said of the suspects. “And I hope that the injury hurts for a while.”

Police say they don’t yet know why the teens were on the property or if they were targeting it specifically. The investigation is ongoing.

“The randomness of it… it’s just an unfortunate incident,” said a White Lake Township police spokesperson. “We don’t want this kind of thing to happen. We’re going to work to bring it to a close and we just ask that people stay safe.”

The homeowner is cooperating with investigators. It will ultimately be up to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office to determine if the shooting was justified under Michigan’s self-defense laws.

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