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Black teen who missed bus gets shot at after knocking to ask for directions

Posted at 6:26 PM, Apr 13, 2018
and last updated 2018-04-13 20:26:58-04

ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. – A 14-year-old boy says he was shot at after knocking on the door of a Michigan home to ask for directions after missing his school bus Thursday morning.

The alleged shooter, identified as former Detroit Fire Department Lt. Jeff Zeigler, was arraigned Friday on felony charges of being in possession of a firearm and assault with intent to murder, according to WXYZ.

The teen, Brennan Walker, said the incident happened after he missed his bus and decided to walk to school, about a 4-mile trip. Somewhere along the way, he got lost and decided to ask for help.

“I knocked on the door, stepped back, knocked, stepped back and then a lady came downstairs yelling at me,” Brennan said. “She asked me, ‘Why are you trying to break into my house?’ and I told her, ‘No, I was just looking for directions to Rochester High.'”

Brennan said a man then came downstairs with a shotgun and Brennan started running, “I turned back and saw him aiming at me.”

Zeigler fired one shot in Brennan’s direction, missing him, according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Dept.

Prosecutors say surveillance video showed that Brennan knocked on the door, refuting Zeigler’s claim that the teen was trying to break into his home.

“There’s a lot more to this story than what is being told and I believe that will all come out in court,” Zeigler said while appearing in court via video. “I was in bed yesterday morning when my wife started screaming and crying…”

The judge ordered a $50,000 bond with no 10 percent option, and, if he is released, Zeigler will have to attend counseling and wear a GPS monitor. He’s also prohibited from coming within 10 miles of the high school student, so he’ll have to find a new place to live if he posts bond, according to WXYZ.

Walker’s mother told WJBK that what she heard while watching video of that morning has her furious.

“One of the things that stands out, that probably angers me the most is, while I was watching the [surveillance] tape, you can hear the wife say, ‘Why did ‘these people’ choose my house?'” mother Lisa Wright said. “Who are, ‘these people?’ And that set me off. I didn’t want to believe it was what it appeared to look like. When I heard her say that, it was like, but it is (what it looks like).”

Zeigler is due back in court April 24.