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Posted on Wed, Dec 2, 2009 : 12:05 p.m.

Witness recounts shooting near Pittsfield Township bus stop that killed 28-year-old man

By Lee Higgins

Jerylyn Holyszko was at her Pittsfield Township home this morning when her 10-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter rushed inside just before 8:30 a.m., she said.

"They just came running home and said there was shooting at the bus stop," she said.

About 20 children were at the bus stop near the intersection of Rockport Court and Cook Creek Drive in the Arbor Creek subdivision when multiple shots were fired in a nearby driveway, a witness said.

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A shooting took place in the driveway of this home on Rockport Court in Pittsfield Township.

Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com

A 28-year-old man was killed, and officers arrested the suspected shooter at the Rockport Court home when they arrived, said Matt Harshberger, the township's public safety director.

The names of the victim and suspect were not released as of 11:30 a.m. Harshberger said police are still trying to notify the victim's relatives. The victim did not live at the home, but the suspect did, Harshberger said.

It was the township's first homicide this year.

A witness who would not agree to be identified because she fears for her safety said she heard six gunshots.

She was parked in a sport utility vehicle at the intersection of Rockport Court and Cook Creek Drive as the kindergarten through 5th-grade students were waiting for the bus to take them to Lawton Elementary School. Her two boys were in the group.

The woman said she waited for the bus to arrive when a small gray car pulled up in front of a house directly across the street. A young man in his 20s got out, she said.

"It was weird because (the car) was still running," she said.

He walked up to the house, and another man walked out of the garage. They shook hands and were standing in the driveway, she said. The garage door went down. She looked away for a moment.

"All of the sudden I heard two shots," she said. "And I turned and I looked and I saw the man who came out of the house and he was pointing the gun."

The man was pointing the gun at the driver's side of a sport utility vehicle parked in the driveway, she said. She heard four more shots.

Several children ran. She called 911.

"I yelled at my kids to get in the car," she said.

The shooter put a gun "into his pants," then casually walked up to the house, she said.

"As I was on 911, someone came onto our call, another operator and said, 'I have the shooter on the phone and he just shot somebody, and they're dead," she said.

The woman, concerned for the safety of other children, did not leave the bus stop until all of the children got onto the bus, she said.

Holyszko said it's a safe neighborhood. "We all know each other for the most part. All the kids play together. You just don't believe that could happen."

The case will be forwarded to the Washtenaw County Prosecutor's office tomorrow for review for possible criminal charges.

Ann Arbor Public Schools Superintendent Todd Roberts said counselors were being made available to speak to the students.

Of the students at the bus stop, some reported seeing the gun being fired, while others said they heard gunshots, according to district spokeswoman Liz Margolis.

A social worker has met with those students, Margolis said. Families of all Lawton Elementary and Slauson Middle School students are being contacted about the incident, school officials said.

Buses will not be dropping students off this afternoon near the home where the shooting occurred to allow police to continue their investigation, officials said.

AnnArbor.com education reporter David Jesse contributed to this story.

Comments

InsideTheHall

Thu, Dec 3, 2009 : 10:11 a.m.

Act or terror?

Tom Teague

Wed, Dec 2, 2009 : 2:18 p.m.

The woman who called 911 and stayed with those kids until they got on the bus this morning did a good thing and deserves thanks.

DATHaig

Wed, Dec 2, 2009 : 2:06 p.m.

There are crazy people everywhere, not just Ann Arbor or Detroit. But it does show how stressed our society is.

Feat of Clay

Wed, Dec 2, 2009 : 1:23 p.m.

It sounds like two people who knew each other, not a random act. So I'm not sure how that leads on to conclude that our town/area is increasingly unsafe. Human relations may be increasingly unsafe, but that phenomenon does not observe zipcode boundaries. Obviously it's shocking that this time it happened outside, near bystanders who were children.

thebuckstop

Wed, Dec 2, 2009 : 1:06 p.m.

mrk - This would not be right any where, any time. Ann Arbor AND the surrounding areas are becoming less and less safe. We need to start taking care of each other and protect each other. The violence needs to be stopped. This is a plea to every one - every where...I DARE YOU TO STOP THE VIOLENCE!!!

mrk

Wed, Dec 2, 2009 : 12:58 p.m.

Not right, especially in front of those kids. Ann Arbor is a scary place these days.