Boaters’ call to 911: ‘He’s trying to shoot us’
HASTINGS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — A 911 call details a frantic game of hide-and-seek as three people fishing on a lake near Hastings spent half an hour trying to keep out of range of a man they said pointed an AR-style rifle at them and threatened to shoot them.
The 911 call came in around 10 p.m. March 2. The three people were out on Thornapple Lake, southeast of Hastings.
“I’m bow fishing with my friends, and someone’s pointing a gun at us,” the caller can be heard reporting in a recording of the 911 call.
“You’re out in the middle of the lake, and you said somebody is pointing a gun at you?” a Barry County dispatcher said.
“Yeah, he’s trying to shoot us. There’s three of us on the boat,” the caller replied.
The caller, a 21-year-old woman, her 20-year-old boyfriend and a 19-year-old man were in the boat.
“Have they actually fired any rounds off at you?” the dispatcher asked.
“Not yet, ma’am,” the caller replied.
The caller said a man at a lakehouse where a bonfire was burning started to yell at them. The boaters said he was angry they were out on the water late.
“He said he had an ‘f-ing 4-year-old’ child in the house. He was mad about the light,” the caller’s boyfriend said.
“I told him, ‘I’m so sorry, I can’t hear, our motor’s so loud, sir,'” the caller said. “And then he ran inside and grabbed his gun and he said that he had an AR.”
“Did he tell you he had a gun, or did you physically see this?” the dispatcher asked.
“Yes. Yes. He told us and we saw it. He was pointing it at us,” the caller said.
“We turned all the lights off and the motor, and we got down because he told us he was going to shoot us,” the caller continued, breathless.
They maneuvered the motor manually in an attempt to creep quietly across the water and away from danger.
“Get down! Get down!” one of the men can be heard saying.
“What’s going on? What’s going on?” the dispatcher demanded.
“He’s scoping the lake. He’s scoping the lake trying to find us,” the caller said, her fear audible.
“What’s that?” the dispatcher asked.
“He’s got a flashlight. He’s trying to, he’s trying to find us,” the caller said.
For 26 minutes, the dispatcher tried to guide the three to where deputies were responding.
“When we get to the beach, we’re going to run,” the caller told the dispatcher.
“You’re up on shore?” the dispatcher asked.
“No, we’re almost there. Oh my god, he’s got a laser!” the caller shouted.
“Take a deep breath and talk to me,” the dispatcher said. “What’s going on?”
“He’s got a laser, ma’am. … We’re running,” the caller said.
They hid in the woods, afraid for their lives.
“Is that male still out there?” the dispatcher asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” the caller replied,
The dispatcher encouraged them: “OK, you’re doing a good job, OK.”
“OK,” the caller said.
“OK, we’ve got lots of help on the way to you,” the dispatcher said.
A court document obtained by News 8 shows a deputy soon arrived to find the three afraid, but unharmed. No shots were fired.
Deputies ultimately found and arrested a suspect, 35-year-old Steven Whiteman. Deputies said they did not find him with an assault rifle, but they did find a pellet gun that the prosecutor said resembles an AR-style weapon.
Whiteman was arraigned Tuesday on three felony counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and a felony count of resisting or assaulting a police officer. He was ordered held in the Barry County Jail on a $75,000 bond; it’s a 10% bond, which means Whiteman would have to post $7,500 to be released.
When contacted by Target 8, Whiteman’s defense attorney, Nicholas Somberg, said he had no comment.
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