A man who shot three teenage girls after finding them in his brother’s stolen car has been charged with attempted murder.
Michael Brown, 23, was taken into police custody after allegedly firing shots inside a Hyundai – leaving two of the teenagers inside with serious injuries and one in critical condition.
There were seven people in the vehicle in Syracuse, New York, at the time of the shooting – three of them were struck when gunfire broke out.
A 16-year-old girl was shot in the arm and midsection, she is now in critical condition. Two 14-year-old girls were shot – one in the hip and the other in the leg – and are expected to survive.
Brown now faces charges of attempted murder, two counts of assault, three counts of reckless endangerment, criminal possession of a firearm and criminal use of a firearm, according to the Syracuse Police Department.
A man who shot three teenage girls after finding them in his brother’s stolen car has been charged with attempted murder
There were seven people in the vehicle in Syracuse, New York, at the time of the shooting – three of them were struck when gunfire broke out
Michael Brown, 23, was taken into police custody after allegedly firing shots inside a Hyundai – leaving two of the teenagers inside with serious injuries and one in critical condition
The Hyundai that the teens were hanging out in was stolen from the 1800 block of Grant Boulevard – although it’s unclear if the young girls were the thieves.
According to a November 5 press release from the Syracuse Police Department, officers responded to a Shot Spotter notification on Grant Boulevard and Pond Street at 10:47 pm.
Shot Spotter is a gunshot detection system that uses acoustic sensors to detect and locate gunshots to alert law enforcement agencies about gunfire incidents for quick responses.
The officers discovered evidence of shots fired and several casings were found on the scene.
The police report informed that: ‘Officers patrolling in the area of Greenland Drive and Harold Street were flagged down by the occupants of a Hyundai, reporting that several people were shot inside the car.
‘The car had several juvenile occupants inside, three of whom were shot.
‘A 16-year-old female was shot in the arm and midsection, a 14-year-old female was shot in the hip, and a 14-year-old female was shot in the leg.
‘All were transported to the hospital. The 14-year-old victims are expected to survive, and the 16-year-old is in critical condition.
‘The investigation revealed the following. Earlier in the night, the previously mentioned Hyundai was stolen from the 1800 block of Grant Boulevard.
‘The shooting suspect, Michael Brown, 23, is related to the victim of the stolen car and searched the area for the car,’ the police report said.
The reported ‘relative’ who owned the vehicle was later identified by CNY Central as Brown’s brother.
Brown now faces charges of attempted murder, two counts of assault, three counts of reckless endangerment, criminal possession of a firearm and criminal use of a firearm, according to the Syracuse Police Department
The police report said: ‘Brown located the stolen vehicle with several juveniles inside. At some point during the interaction, Brown shot into the car, striking three juveniles inside’
Compared to last year – Syracuse police have seen a 63% increase in stolen vehicles. Police believe that manufacturing defects for Kia and Hyundai models have contributed to this increase
The police report said: ‘Brown located the stolen vehicle with several juveniles inside. At some point during the interaction, Brown shot into the car, striking three juveniles inside.
‘After the shooting, Brown fled the scene. Brown was later located on Peters Street and taken into custody for this incident.’
Hyundai and Kia models of cars have been frequent victims of vehicle theft – especially in light of a recent Tiktok trend which showed users how to break into those cars using common household objects.
The models that were targeted included 2017-2020 Hyundai Elantras, 2015-2019 Hyundai Sonatas and 2020-2021 Hyundai Venues.
In April of this year – tragedy struck when teenagers stole a Hyundai and crashed into a family’s car leaving their six-month old son dead.
The boys, aged 14 and 17, each faced a single count of criminal trespassing over the incident, but police said those charges could be upgraded pending a further investigation into the crash.
Police said the two boys were speeding down West Washington Road in a stolen Hyundai sedan when they tore through an intersection and collided with a pickup truck at about 5pm on April 16.
A 16-year-old girl was shot in the arm and midsection, she is now in critical condition. Two 14-year-old girls were shot – one in the hip and the other in the leg – and are expected to survive
Hyundai and Kia models of cars have been frequent victims of vehicle theft – especially in light of a recent Tiktok trend which showed users how to break into those cars using common household objects
Compared to last year – Syracuse police have seen a 63% increase in stolen vehicles. Police believe that manufacturing defects for Kia and Hyundai models have contributed to this increase.
In October 2022 – teenagers in a stolen Kia were involved in a car crash that killed four teenagers and injured two others in Buffalo, New York.
The Buffalo City Police Department said the crash happened around 6.30am Monday after the car, a Kia Sportage, was stolen late Sunday evening.
All five passengers inside the car, in addition to the driver, were under the age of 19 and were ejected from the vehicle. The driver was not ejected.
Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia told reporters Monday that he believed the teens were participating in the trend that encourages people to break into the vehicles.
The ‘Kia Boyz’ challenge police were referring to requires just a USB cord and a screwdriver in order to hotwire Kia and Hyundai vehicles.