Benton Harbor resident catches shooting on camera, hopes others will speak up

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. -- It was around 7:30 Sunday night and Michael Hoyh had just returned to The Legacy Group in Benton Harbor.

While pulling into the parking lot, he noticed three cars come in behind him and stop on the curb of Lake Avenue, then a group of teenage boys started shooting toward a home on Colby. 

“They ran into the tree lining over here and next thing I hear is rounds and rounds of ammunition going off, I’m trying to take cover and barely peeping over my steering wheel, I’m no more than a car length away from them,” said Hoyh.

Taking cover in his car – he started taking video – the whole ordeal only lasted around two minutes. 

“They come running out of the woods laughing, waving their assault rifles, get back into their cars and fly out of here laughing, carrying on.”

It comes on the heels of Benton Harbor’s 21 days of peace, which included an increased Michigan State Police presence and a curfew for kids 15 and under. 

It concluded Sept. 2, but Hoyh fears the city could easily slip back into the same cycle. 

“This is a band aid, we don’t need any more band aids, we need people to speak up, we need the parents, we know these people, we know who’s doing these things.”

Director of Public Safety Dan McGinnis did not want to speak on camera and said they’re still early in this investigation.

McGinnis did say, miraculously, no injuries have been reported.