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Kzoo man says “horrific experience” when home was hit by gunfire

Posted at 11:21 AM, Jul 05, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-06 16:54:50-04

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Bennie Gill considers himself to be fortunate, he said. He was lying on his couch around 5 a.m.  when gunfire broke out in front of his home on Summitt and Douglas Avenues.

“Momentarily I thought it was firecrackers,” Gill said during an interview on his front porch. “But, you know, instantly I knew they were bullets.”

He remembered hearing the gunshots getting louder and louder. Then, suddenly, a bullet went through his window.

“There was a big burst of glass flying in the room,” he said. “So I roll over on the floor and shut the bedroom door.”

He said his air conditioner was hit a few times. The bullets left three dime-sized holes in it. One even went through it and hit a glass table inside.

“I got hit with a piece of glass fragment on the inside of my lip,” he said pointing to his mouth. “They sped on through here.”

Gill said he heard the vehicle “roar” on Summitt Street and through his yard. They damaged his white fence and left tire tracks in his yard before getting onto Douglas. That’s when the police came.

“They did have contact with at least one vehicle last night,” said Executive Lt. Rafael Diaz with Kalamazoo Public Safety. “It was associated with that incident and some arrests were made.”

Exec. Lt. Diaz said police were already in the area tending to another issue when they heard the gunshots. In the initial investigation, they learned a large fight broke out that ended with gunfire. When the vehicle was stopped, the occupants were arrested on a number of charges.

As for Gill, he's since gone to the doctors office to check on his lip. He’s doing OK and thanks God for that.

“They should be a lot more responsible,” he said about the suspects. “It didn’t have to be me. It could’ve been anybody.”

***Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety at 269-337-8994 or Silent Observer at 269-343-2100.***