SHELBY TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A nice getaway on a hot day is to the beach, but that was interrupted by gunshots Wednesday night at Stony Creek Metropark.
Officials say that three people are in custody after shots were fired amid a believed altercation.
UPDATE: Teen who fired shot at Stony Creek Metropark released to parents, officials say
On a busy day at the Stony Creek Metropark beach area, an argument between two groups of men spilled into the parking lot.
“We came up, and there were about 100 people coming out,” said witness Amin Haque. “I thought they were getting kicked out of the park. It was pretty rowdy.”
There was an alleged altercation between about four men, and they followed a group to a Jeep in the parking lot. One witness said it appeared that one group of guys was trying to fight with another group.
“Before they closed the door, they shot off a warning shot to the guys, and then they tried to speed out of the parking lot, and they failed because security was here,” Haque said.
No one was believed to be injured in the incident.
What happened next was chaotic, as people started running while Metropark police arrived. Toni Lulgjuraj was tased and detained by police in the aftermath.
“Out of nowhere, he has a taser out in his hand, and I’m still backing up,” said Lulgjuraj. “The officer gets very close to me and tases me.”
Metropark police said the three people in the Jeep Grand Cherokee were the only people arrested. Police say they recovered the gun that one of the arrestees fired, along with the the shell casing.
Officers were reportedly interviewing the group Wednesday night as they continued to investigate. Police taped off the parking lot where it happened for about two hours.
“We were literally like opening the back of our van and starting to put stuff in it when they backed us up,” said beachgoer Nick Bulchak.
To call it an inconvenience on the hottest day of the year for beachgoers like Bulchak is an understatement.
“Two hours with four little kids, it’s a lot,” Bulchak said.
Officials say that the three young men who were arrested are from Dearborn. After the incident, a relative of the three men showed up at the park, as he was trying to get back into his vehicle.
The relative said the two groups involved have a history.
