KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Three teens have been arrested after police say they were able to link them to 45 different crimes which occurred over a 12 hour period in the Kalamazoo area.
An initial 911 call Saturday afternoon reporting a young man carrying a pistol as he walked along Kings Highway near the Red Arrow Golf Course is what led officers with the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety to make the arrests, according to a news release issued Saturday evening.
Police were already investigating following a string of vehicle break-ins, property damage and vandalism in several areas of the city, which were initially thought to be an act of one or more people using BB guns to ‘raise havoc,’ according to KDPS.
The three teens stole three CO-2 powered semi-automatic BB pistols from a store on Gull Road around midnight, police said.
Following the alleged thefts, investigators said the teens spent the night driving through the Kalamazoo area shooting at vehicle windows, homes and people, and stealing items from vehicles.
The shootings caused thousands of dollars in damage, but no was was ‘significantly’ injured, police said.
Two stolen BB pistols were recovered from the scene of the arrests, according to police.
Police arrested a 15-year-old from Kalamazoo, a 17-year-old from Three Rivers and 13-year-old from Kalamazoo. Police said the 13-year-old had just been released from a juvenile home on Jan. 8 for similar crimes.
Kalamazoo Public Safety officials said the arrests were made possible because someone took the time to call 911.
Anyone with additional information is asked to contact KDPS at 296-337-8994 or Silent Observer at 269-343-2100.
