Things turned ugly at the Beeson Street Bar in Dowagiac early this morning, spilling into the streets and resulting in one man dead in the mayhem.
Dowagiac Police say they were dispatched to the Beeson Street Bar for a large fight in progress at approximately 2:29 am. While enroute officers heard several gunshots coming from the area around Beeson Street. It was at that time that officers were told that one man had been shot.
Upon arrival on the scene authorities encountered a large crowd of people and what they characterized as a chaotic scene. Officers found one man dead from a gunshot wound.
Police were told that the man responsible for the shooting had taken off running northbound from the parking lot behind the Beeson Street Bar, which is where they began their search and where they eventually located the suspect on West Telegraph Street. After a short foot chase he was was taken into custody without incident.
Police say that the entire event stemmed from an altercation inside of the bar that spilled out into the parking lot behind the bar. The man accused in the shooting had gone to his vehicle and retrieved an AK-47 style rifle and attempted to load it. He was being followed by several others that he had the original confrontation with and ran northbound through the parking lot.
According to witnesses, the shooter was successful in getting the weapon loaded and then ran back toward the others who were following him and opened fire. He reportedly fired several shots, but missed his intended target. Instead, he struck another man who was with the group following him. The man who was hit by gunfire died instantly in the incident. Officers located the weapon and several pieces of evidence from the scene.
The man who was shot is identified as a 42 year old man from Dowagiac. His name is being withheld pending notification of his family.
Dowagiac police arrested the suspect, a 24 year old man from Dowagiac. He was lodged at the Cass County Jail on a charge of open murder. All charges are pending authorization from the Cass County Prosecutors Office. The name of the suspect is being withheld pending his arraignment in Cass County 4th District Court.
Dowagiac Police were assisted by the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, Pokagon Tribal Police Department, Niles Police Department, Dowagiac Fire Department and Pride Care EMS. This incident remains under investigation and anyone with information is asked to contact Dowagiac Police at (269) 782-9743.
