A 3-year-old girl has been killed and her parents were seriously injured after a man crashed into the family during an evening walk and then opened fire, according to Eaton County, Michigan, court records and the prosecutor’s office. A neighbor who rushed to help the family was also injured.
“My heart is shattered for the family, friends, and loved ones of those who were victimized during the unthinkable tragedy that occurred in Delta Township on Friday night,” Eaton County Prosecuting Attorney Douglas Lloyd said. “What occurred should never occur, and as a community, we must support each other and wrap our arms around those affected directly.”
The parents were walking with their daughter, who was riding in a pink wagon along Green Meadows Drive, when a gray sedan traveling north at high speed swerved off the road and struck them, according to an affidavit filed in Eaton County on Feb. 17.
According to court documents, a video reviewed by investigators showed that the vehicle hit the family before crashing into a structure. The driver then exited the car, discarded a backpack, raised a shotgun, and began shooting at the victims.
Detectives allege the suspect fired several rounds, returned to his backpack to reload, and continued shooting, hitting the husband at close range. He also struck the father with the shotgun and then used it as a blunt weapon against a female neighbor who rushed to help before fleeing on foot, the affidavit states.
According to detectives, the mother recounted walking with her husband and daughter when a car suddenly struck her. She said the driver exited the vehicle and opened fire on the family, then punched her husband. When she stepped in to help, the man grabbed her by the hair and pulled as though her neck would break, according to court records.
A GoFundMe fundraiser organized by friends described the family as loving and close-knit. One friend wrote that Paige worked as their daughter’s nanny and that their child became her "very first friend," describing the mother as a cherished presence who cared for their child with "warmth, love, and dedication."
Organizers said proceeds will help cover medical costs and funeral arrangements for the victim's daughter and honor her memory.
Around 6 p.m., Eaton County dispatchers received a report of a man near West Saginaw Highway in Lansing Township claiming he had shot someone. Deputies found Alexander Lamar Banks Jr., 21, of Delta Township, and arrested him at the scene.
Deputies responding to the scene recovered a 12-gauge shotgun from the front yard of a nearby residence with evidence on the weapon. Several spent shotgun shells were also found. A gray Chrysler 200 registered to the suspect’s father was located crashed in a backyard.
Banks Jr. told detectives he had been receiving threats online from people urging him to kill someone to save his family, according to court documents. He said he filled a backpack with shotgun shells, retrieved a shotgun from his father's room. He then drove around the neighborhood. When he saw the family walking, Banks said he deliberately crashed into the male, and then got out of the car, and opened fire.