Deputies: Teen stabs man who shot woman
ROBINSON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — A man shot a woman at their home west of Allendale Thursday morning before one of their children, a 16-year-old, stabbed him to stop the attack, deputies say.
A total of five children were at the house when it happened, but none were injured, deputies say.
Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Jake Sparks said that deputies were called to a home on 96th Avenue near Winans Street in Robinson Township around 8:45 a.m. after someone called 911, reporting a man was shooting at a woman and a child.
“(The 911 caller was) someone else in the area, a neighbor or a passerby who had seen the incident taking place,” Sparks said. “The initial information was that a man had come outside armed with a handgun, shooting.”
When deputies got there, they found a 34-year-old woman with gunshot wounds and a 35-year-old man with stab wounds. Both were hospitalized with what he described as “grievous” injuries and were undergoing surgery later Thursday.
The sheriff’s office said its initial investigation found that the man and woman argued, after which the man shot the woman at least twice. Sparks said shots were also fired at a 6-year-old; the child was not hit.
The couple’s 16-year-old son then “intervened with a knife to prevent the suspect from causing further injury to the woman or other children,” a release said. He stabbed the man in the neck.
The man is expected to face charges after he is released from the hospital, deputies said. His name was not released Thursday.
“This is all a domestic family relationship,” Sparks said. “There’s nobody outstanding at this point. In other words, there’s no suspects who left the scene. Everybody has been accounted for.”
Sparks did not have any information about whether the sheriff’s office had previous contact with the family.
The five children have been reunited with other family members, authorities say.
“Right now, our main focus is the children who were involved in this and saw something very traumatic with their parents,” Sparks said.
He described a “chaotic” scene with a number of people involved.
“They’re all either suspects, victims or witnesses. Our job is to try to figure out which is which while still being concerned with the welfare of those children and the welfare of those people who are injured,” Sparks said. “We’re trying to get (the kids) the resources that they need — that can be very cumbersome. And then also talking to everybody to figure out what’s going on, while diverting resources as well to the people who are hospitalized right now to try to figure out what their status is.”
He said detectives were trained to interview children and the sheriff’s office works with the Children’s Advocacy Center, which has resources for interviewing and supporting children’s mental health. A crisis intervention deputy works with mental health organizations and the victim services unit supports kids and families involved in violence.
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