'They're not strangers': 1 dead after carjacking outside Monroe store

Customers shot in carjacking outside Monroe store

Two customers were in a vehicle outside a Monroe market when they were shot and carjacked. One of the victims died, while the other is hospitalized.

MONROE, Mich. (FOX 2) - Two regular customers of a Monroe store were shot, one fatally, during a carjacking outside the business over the weekend.

The suspects first robbed the clerk of Highlander Market at gunpoint Saturday afternoon before going outside and carjacking two men. The suspects shot both men at close range before fleeing in the victims' vehicle, police said.

One of the men, 31-year-old Michael Beck Jr., died. The other victim, 34-year-old Adam Helton, remains hospitalized.

"Customers are shocked too because it's never happened in this area," store owner Udana Seneviratne said.

The suspects were arrested hours later on I-75 in Ohio after a high-speed chase and a shootout with police.

Seneviratne wasn't around at the time of the carjacking, but he said the suspects have been visiting the store recently and had shopped there multiple times over the past few months.

"They are regular customers too, last couple of months," he said. "They’re not strangers."

GoFundMe pages have been set up for the victims and their families. Find Beck's here and Helton's here.

Crime and Public Safety News Monroe County