Douglas Reese Detroit, Michigan man fatally shot over cutting line confrontation at Erebus Haunted House in Pontiac. Fleeing suspect now sought.
A dispute over cutting in line led to a shooting that claimed a man’s life outside a popular haunted house in southeastern Michigan, which has now sparked a manhunt.
Investigators were looking for a suspect Monday after the early Sunday shooting at Erebus Haunted House in Pontiac.
The victim, identified as 29 year old man, Douglas Reese from Detroit, had been waiting with his girlfriend in line to enter the Halloween-themed attraction on South Perry Street shortly after 12.30am when another person standing in line ahead of them would not move.
‘The victim and the suspect exchanged words as the suspect thought the victim had cut in line ahead of him,’ the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.
Fox2Detroit reports upon Reese, a local welder leaving the line and heading towards his car, the suspect following, with tensions continuing to escalate.
Different versions of who exactly cut in line
‘Clearly that argument escalated,’ Sheriff Mike Bouchard said.
Reese collapsed on the sidewalk suffering from wounds in the side, neck and chest, the sheriff’s office said. A witness told of a blue sedan fleeing the scene at a high rate of speed.
EMS workers rushed the injured Detroit resident to McLaren Oakland Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
‘There’s no resolution in that,’ Erebus co-owner Ed Terebus told Fox 2 Detroit of the fatal shooting. ‘It’s not worth it. If someone cuts in front of you in line, let us know and we’ll handle it and call the police.’
Told the victim’s sister, ‘When someone is walking away, from a situation or whatever, you don’t follow them and shoot them. You don’t do that. That’s not ok.’
‘It’s not snitching on telling on a murderer,’
Witnesses are now challenging who exactly cut in line, with some having said that it was Reese who had in fact cut in line. A claim that family members are disputing, insisting that Reese was non confrontational.
Reese’s sister is now pleading for the public to help law officials bring the wanted man to account.
‘I know people talk. It’s not snitching on telling on a murderer,’ the woman said.
Law enforcement officials are now searching for the accused gunman, who has been described as a thin black man standing at 6 feet tall. He was last seen wearing an orange hooded sweatshirt and jeans.
Anyone with information on the suspect’s whereabouts is being as to call Crime Stoppers at (800) SPEAK-UP.
Erebus Haunted House has been operating in Pontiac on a seasonal basis since 2000. In 2019, USA Today ranked the attraction No. 1 on its 10 Best Readers’ Choice Travel Awards list.
The haunted house opened its doors to visitors on Friday, offering touch-free scares amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
