ORION TWP. (WWJ) -- The Oakland County Sheriff's office is urging the public to be aware of their surroundings, and use caution in parking lots, after a carjacking and shooting at a shopping center Tuesday evening.
Deputies were called to the scene near the Old Navy at the Baldwin Commons in Orion Township, after a 44-year-old woman attacked while walking out of the store with her son, at around 5:45 p.m.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said the man had been sitting at the Panera Bread, watching and waiting to choose his victim.
"As soon as our victim exited the store with her young son, he ran from this table, around one of the cars, and confronted her in the parking lot directly behind us, and ended up shooting her and taking her car keys," Bouchard told reporters at the scene.
The suspect drove away in the woman's car, the sheriff said.
Investigators used a FLOCK camera (license plate reader) to quickly track down the vehicle.
There was a brief chase, the suspect crashed, fled on foot, and was arrested.
The woman was taken to a hospital in serious condition. She was still recovering as of Wednesday morning, but is expected to be OK.
Bouchard stressed that this was an isolated incident, but said people should keep in mind that something this could happen no matter where you are.
"This is a very quiet, safe community; Orion Township is a very safe, quiet community," Bouchard told reporters. "So, bad things can happen to good people anywhere, and it's just important for all of us to be aware of that, and be situationally aware...but, also know that it's isolated."
"If you see some suspicious behavior, let your intuition and your instincts talk to you, and react," he said.
The suspect, a 25-year-old Ann Arbor man was on parole for a previous assault.
He is jailed, awaiting an arraignment on the charges.
