A 12-year-old Michigan boy fired a warning shot and robbed several thousand dollars from a Van Buren County gas station, but was quickly caught, police said.
The Hartford Police Department received a call at about 3:52 p.m. Wednesday that there was an armed robbery at the Marathon gas station on East Main Street, said Lt. Michael Prince.
The robber, a 12-year-old boy, pointed a gun at a clerk and demanded money, Prince said. When the clerk asked if the boy was serious, the boy fired a warning shot into the ceiling. The clerk then gave several thousand dollars to the boy, who put the money in a backpack and ran off, said Prince.
“It flabbergasts me that a young person, broad daylight, no mask, would walk right in the business with other customers, announce an armed robbery, and when he was challenged by the clerk to fire a round into the ceiling,” Prince said.
But the 12-year-old did not get far. Several law enforcement agencies responded and the boy was found a block or two away in a parking lot behind some businesses, said Prince. Hartford Police Chief Tressa Beltran arrested the boy.
“We had units on scene probably within 90 seconds of the dispatch,” said Prince. “I got to credit all the help that we had. We had help from the Pokagon Tribal Police and the Van Buren County Sheriff Department. All arrived really quick and was able to keep the suspect contained.”
The boy’s loaded handgun and all the money were recovered, Prince said. The 12-year-old was taken to the Allegan County Juvenile Center. He is expected to be arraigned on Thursday at Juvenile Court in Paw Paw, said Prince.
“He pretty much did not lie about anything,” Prince said. “He will not give us his exact reason. He said it wasn’t for the money. But he would not tell us. It was recorded on high-definition, three different cameras at the business. I just don’t know what was going on in this young guy’s mind.”
The boy acquired the gun by taking it from a locked cabinet at his home, said Prince.
“It’s very concerning: the school shootings that we’re seeing every day, the violence we’re seeing in churches,” said Prince. “I think the father had good intentions. But I think he learned a valuable lesson that he needs to secure the firearm even better than he did because the young man was able to pry the door open and obtain his weapon.”
Prince said the suspect is a student at Hartford Middle School.
“I do want to say I think a lot of parents are concerned, especially to find out that this was a Hartford Middle School student, that at no point was any children in danger,” said Prince. “The weapon was obtained after school, after he got off a bus. But at no time was anybody in any danger at the school.”
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