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Dowagiac teenager shot in foot while watching TV

Posted at 3:01 PM, Nov 24, 2019
and last updated 2019-11-24 15:01:48-05

DOWAGIAC, Mich. — Dowagiac Police took a suspect into custody after responding to a shooting at Vineyard Place Apartments at midday Sunday.

At 11:25 a.m., Sunday, the Dowagiac Police Department was contacted by employees at Ascension Borgess Lee Memorial Hospital in Dowagiac advising that they were currently treating a 14-year-old victim of a gunshot wound.  Police responded and made contact with the teenager.

The victim advised that they were sitting on the floor in the living room of an apartment at Vineyard Place Apartments.  The victim heard a loud noise and noted pain in their foot.  Upon checking, the victim noted that they had been shot in the foot and was taken to the hospital for treatment.

Police received information about a suspect who had left the area.  The suspect was later contacted by a deputy with the Cass County Sheriff’s Department and turned himself in to the deputy.  The suspect was then turned over to Dowagiac Police.

The male suspect advised that he was handling the gun and accidentally fired it into the floor of an upstairs bedroom of the apartment, from where the bullet then struck the victim.

Dowagiac Police recovered the weapon as well as other evidence from the scene.

Dowagiac Police arrested the male suspect, a 23-year-old Cassopolis man, for assault with a dangerous weapon, felon in possession of a firearm and felony firearms.  He was lodged at the Cass County Jail on the charges.  The suspects name is being withheld pending his arraignment in Cass County 4th District Court on Monday.

All charges are pending authorization from the Cass County Prosecutor’s Office.

The victim was treated and released for non-life-threatening injuries.

Dowagiac Police were assisted by the Cass County Sheriff’s Office during the incident.

The incident remains under investigation.  Anyone with information is being asked to contact the Dowagiac Police Department at (269) 782-9743 or the Cass County Tip Line at 1-800-462-9328.