No decision on customer who shot at Home Depot suspects

Auburn Hills — Authorities say it’s still too early to determine if charges will be filed against a Clarkston woman who fired shots Tuesday afternoon at a car containing two shoplifting suspects fleeing a Home Depot.

“The police department is still conducting its investigation so we don’t have anything in front of us yet,” Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper said. “The way it works in this county is that the police investigate and then bring us as much information as they can. We look at it, and, if it suffices, we decide what we’ll charge.

“Other times, we send it back telling the investigators we need this or that before we can proceed. But we don’t have any of that at this point.”

Auburn Hills police responded to a call of “shots fired” at the Home Depot store on Joslyn at about 2 p.m. Police determined that a 47-year-old Clarkston woman, who had a concealed pistol license, with a weapons permit had tried to stop a shoplifter by firing at his car.

The woman fired her weapon after apparently witnessing one of the store’s loss prevention officers trying to stop the suspect, who was fleeing in a dark-colored SUV.

It’s unknown how many rounds were fired from her 9mm handgun, but police believe she hit and flattened one of the vehicle’s rear tires as it sped off in the direction of Brown Road.

It was not known if anyone was injured in the incident. The customer remained on the scene and cooperated with police.

The shoplifters were identified as a man in his 40s, who was driving the vehicle, and a man in his mid-40s wearing a black shirt with yellow writing and a black baseball cap.

The second man is believed to have run out of the store with a large box of unknown content or value, police said.

The incident remains under investigation. Anyone with information on the incident or the suspects is asked to call police at (248) 370-9444.

TGreenwood@detroitnews.com

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