Grandma Shoots, Kills Grandson During Apparent Domestic Dispute
WEST BLOOMFIELD TWP. (WWJ) - Police say domestic violence is likely to blame for the death of a teenager who was shot and killed by his 74-year-old grandmother in West Bloomfield Township.
Lt. Tim Diamond said the police department received a call from some neighbors around 5:30 p.m. Friday, indicating that they heard gunshots coming from an address in the 6000 block of Brookview Lane.
Diamond said the victim, 17-year-old Jonathan Hoffman, also called 911 to say he had been shot.
"Our officers responded and when they got there, they discovered that there was a male with gunshot wounds," he said. "There were multiple gun shots. All of the shooting was done inside the house."
Diamond said the grandmother was taken into police custody without incident and the teen was transported to Botsford Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after 6 p.m.
The grandmother was also taken to the hospital for observation.
"We took her to the hospital as a precautionary measure to have her evaluated and the doctors at the hospital did several tests just to make sure she was okay. It's my understanding that at about 1 or 2 Saturday morning she was transported back to our station," said Diamond.
Officers had previously responded to the residence in March on a report of domestic disturbance.
"Both of these people involved yesterday were interviewed at that time, and I would categorize that as a typical family disagreement, nothing physical. The officers calmed everybody down and everybody was fine and they cleared the scene. No arrests were made or anything like that," he said.
Detectives are still working on the case, collecting evidence to turn over to the prosecutor's office. Diamond said the grandmother has retained an attorney.
"It's certainly a tragic situation. You don't see many times where there's an incident like this with a grandmother and a grandson. With domestic situations, emotions run high and bad things can happen in a hurry when people are emotional," he said.
Charges could be filed as early as Sunday.
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