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Suspect on the run after Inkster gas station shooting
The target and the shooter exchanged words in the parking lot of a Shell gas station off Middlebelt, near Cherry Hill on Sunday, May 19. The target walked away, but the shooter did not.
INKSTER, Mich. (FOX 2) - A man fired three shots into an Inkster gas station, with customers and the clerk inside, before fleeing.
The target and the shooter exchanged words in the parking lot of a Shell gas station off Middlebelt, near Cherry Hill on Sunday, May 19. The target walked away, but the shooter did not.
Instead – he put his hoodie up, pulled his gun out and started firing.
The suspect is still wanted by Inkster police. Security camera footage that captured the shooting helped police identify him as 21-year-old Keontay Armani Oneal.
"This time, this victim was lucky he didn't get hit by any of the gunfire," said Inkster Police Chief Tamika Jenkins. "But we are afraid that next time (Oneal) might actually hit his target."
21-year-old Keontay Armani Oneal (Inkster Police Department)
After their interaction outside, the shooter followed his target into the gas station.
"(The target) was at the register, paying for whatever it was he was purchasing, and apparently our suspect did not let whatever it was go," Jenkins said.
No one was injured during the shooting.
"What that says about him is that he does not care about the life or the safety of people in this community or probably any other community," the chief said.
The gas station clerks told FOX 2 off camera the incident was terrifying. And with the bullet holes left behind on the building's wall, they have been reminded of the shooting every day since.
The clerks are also still nervous because the suspect has been able to evade police.
"Just from what he did in Inkster, I would say he's pretty violent," Jenkins said.
Oneal has a weapons charge from 2022.
After Sunday's shooting, he ran off and yelled "pull off" to a female driver he rode with to the gas station.
"The female then puts the vehicle into drive and drives after Oneal," according to a police release.
She was driving a grayish-blue Volvo, and the plate number is 4PZG06. The car has a pink steering wheel and seat cover.
Inkster police are looking for a grayish-blue Volvo connected to a Sunday, May 19, 2024 shooting at a gas station. The plate number is 4PZG06. (Inkster Police Department)
"It's very important because we're trying to send a message to the community that this type of behavior will no longer be tolerated in our city," Jenkins said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Inkster police at 313-563-9850.