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Macomb County man dodges a bullet flying through window
It happened on Saturday afternoon in a Macomb Township suburb. A Macomb County Sheriff substation is about two and a half miles away from where it all happened. Someone got a 911 call about a window exploding without explanation. About 20 minutes later, it was clear what happened.
MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - A family celebration in Macomb County nearly turns tragic after a bullet smashes a kitchen window, coming to rest inches away from one man.
It happened on Saturday afternoon in a Macomb Township suburb. A Macomb County Sheriff substation is about two and a half miles away from where it all happened. Someone got a 911 call about a window exploding without explanation. About 20 minutes later, it was clear what happened.
Heather Schell was upstairs at the time. Her father-in-law, Gary, was sitting in that kitchen, looking out that window.
"All of a sudden, the whole glass just exploded and shattered, and, I mean, it sounded like a bomb went off in the house," said Gary Schell.
Gary was visiting. It was supposed to be a night to celebrate a milestone: turning 70 years old.
"I was going to take all the kids out for a nice dinner for my 70th birthday to celebrate that," he said. "It took me 70 years, but I did dodged the bullet."
The bullet that shattered the double pane somehow missed Gary, and upon closer inspection, the wooden blinds may have been the best home decor purchase of their lives.
"It could have done a lot more damage than it did. Thank God it didn’t," he said.
"It hit the blinds, and had it not done that, I don’t know what the outcome would have been," said Heather.
"Maybe that deflected the bullet just enough to change its course and have it ricochet away from me," said Gary.
But what of the bullet itself? Well, it was eventually found.
"My wife actually found it while she was sweeping up glass," he said.
As for where that bullet came from, that's where the Macomb County Sheriff’s deputies come in.
"They were wondering if it came from a neighbor's house, and sure enough, the neighbor came out and saw the police and started talking to him," he said.
"He had admitted that he had an accidental discharge of the firearm that he was cleaning," said Heather.
The Schells say they do believe it was likely an accident; however, they are hopeful others may see this as a warning that you can never be too safe when it comes to handling firearms in the house.
According to the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office, all parties are cooperating with the investigation. Once it's complete, the findings will be turned over to the prosecutor’s office.