PORT HURON, Mich. (WXYZ) — A 30-year-old man was shot and killed while pumping gas at a Port Huron Marathon station Monday afternoon in what police are calling an act of senseless violence that began as a road rage incident.
Watch Randy Wimbley's video report:
Reginald Franklin was gunned down by a 36-year-old woman who knew him for years and followed him to the gas station on Military Street after their argument on the road, according to Port Huron police.
The shooting stemmed from an argument over a traffic incident that happened blocks away from the Marathon station. Witnesses and police said the suspect had every chance to walk away before pulling the trigger.
Witness Anton Abu-Joudeh said he still has goosebumps after seeing the deadly shooting.
"A lady and a guy yelling at each other, but the guy was trying to pump gas. He was telling her, 'You got a big mouth. You got a big mouth.' And she just wouldn't let him go," Abu-Joudeh said.
Abu-Joudeh recalled what the suspect said seconds before firing the fatal shots.
"She goes, you want to see what kind of b*** I can be? And that's when she..." Abu-Joudeh said. "Pop, pop, pop. You could still hear him yelling. She shot him three times."
Port Huron Police Chief Brian Kerrigan said there was no justification for the shooting.
"From the evidence of everything we collected, there's no self-defense claim here: She provoked it, she continued it, and she just didn't let it go," Kerrigan said.
Franklin was a father who would have celebrated his 31st birthday next week.
Police said the woman left the scene after the shooting, called 911, and turned herself in to police. The suspect is expected to be formally charged in the coming days.
The shooting has struck a nerve with Port Huron residents like Shelia Folliard.
"That scares me," Folliard said. "I'm scared to go walk my dog anymore. There was a shooting just a couple weeks ago, maybe a month ago, on the 10th."
"They've lost their mind. I think people need God, is what they need. People need God," Folliard said.
said there's a clear lesson to be learned in the wake of this violence.
"Go the other way. But to keep continuing the argument and get so worked up over it that it leads to you making a life-changing decision really doesn't have to happen. Completely senseless because we let our emotions get the best of us," Kerrigan said.
The investigation remains active. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call Port Huron Police at (810) 984-8415.
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