DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. – A dispute between a landlord and a tenant in Dearborn Heights ended in gunfire.
The 79-year-old tenant, who asked to remain anonymous, said he was shot in the knee by his landlord Friday (Jan. 3).
The incident happened in the driveway of the home located near Beech Daly and Joy Road in Dearborn Heights.
“He pulled his gun, and he pointed it at me, and he’s like, ‘I’ll bury you right here,’” the tenant’s son told Local 4.
The son said the landlord shot his dad instead.
According to the family, they had been calling the landlord to fix several things in the house, from the water heater to the electricity.
The family said the landlord was frustrated and wanted them to leave despite paying three months' rent.
According to the son, the landlord arrived at the house armed Friday morning.
“I hear this banging on the door,” the tenant’s son said. “I think he was banging on the door with his gun because it was very loud, or he had some medal thing that he was banging with.”
The son said he answered the door, and they argued.
“He got in my face, and he head-butted me with his cap, and then I head-butted him back, and we got loud,” the son said.
The incident, including the shooting, was captured on a neighbor’s front porch camera.
“As he was cussing, I hear a bang. I hear a gunshot. I look at my dad, and he got hit in the knee,” the son said.
The father was taken to the hospital and treated for his gunshot wound. He’s on crutches and expected to physically recover.
“We don’t have weapons in the house,” the son said. “We don’t have anything to defend ourselves because we don’t expect people to attack us like that.”
The landlord was arrested, but it is unclear what, if any, charges he will face.