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Police confirmed Wednesday they believe three shootings that occurred within about 30 minutes and several miles of each other Monday night in Washtenaw County are related.
Pittsfield Township and Michigan State Police investigators continue to work together to find out who shot at the three vehicles in Pittsfield and Bridgewater townships.
Courtesy of the Pittsfield Township DPS.
“We came down to the fact that we are investigating the three cases that happened Monday evening and we do believe they are related,” Harshberger told AnnArbor.com. “We have assigned the Michigan State Police and Pittsfield Township as lead investigators to continue the investigation into all three incidents together and we’re trying to plan out the resources we might need as part of the investigation.”
He also encouraged anyone who might have seen anything that could be related to any of the incidents to call police.
An unknown shooter hit three vehicles Monday evening. The first two incidents were reported about 6 p.m. in Bridgewater Township on Austin Road and, 15 minutes later, another vehicle was shot on Michigan Avenue in Pittsfield Township.
FBI spokesman Simon Shaykhet confirmed the agency was involved in the investigation Wednesday afternoon. Sgt. Geoffrey Fox, of the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office, said deputies attended Wednesday’s meeting to stay abreast of the situation.
Harshberger said representatives from other agencies attended the meeting Wednesday but he declined to say what agencies they were from.
He said Wednesday’s meeting was an initial, general dialogue about the situation.
To this point, there has been no suspect information from the three shootings released to the public.
The first shooting was reported on Austin Road east of Ernst Road. A 2005 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck driven west by a Manchester man was shot.
The second shooting was reported a short time later on Austin Road west of Schneider Road. An Adrian woman was driving the 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix west on Austin Road when it was hit by a bullet.
The third shooting occurred between 6 and 6:15 p.m. Monday, police said in a release Wednesday. A vehicle driven west by a 72-year-old Pittsfield Township woman was hit by a bullet in the driver’s side door as she drove westbound on Michigan Avenue east of Industrial Drive.
The distance between the intersection of Austin and Schneider and Michigan Avenue and Industrial is a little more than nine miles. According to Google Maps, the estimated drive time between the two intersections is 14 minutes.
No one was injured in the shootings.
Police said a fourth incident in which a car window shattered in a vehicle on Interstate 94 near Zeeb Road in Scio Township is not believed to be related to the shootings.
State Police also told the Detroit Free Press Wednesday that an incident in which a man was arrested for allegedly pointing a handgun at vehicles while driving on U.S. 23 in Green Oak Township does not appear related to the shootings.
The shootings come several months after Raulie Casteel was arrested after being accused of shooting at 24 vehicles along the Interstate 96 corridor in October, injuring one person. Casteel is facing a multitude of criminal charges, including terrorism counts. His case is headed toward trial.
More recently, Elmore Ray was arrested last month after he was accused of firing a sawed-off shotgun at vehicles on U.S. 23. He’s held at the Washtenaw County Jail and is awaiting a competency hearing.
Anyone with information on the recent shootings is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK UP (773-2587).
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Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.