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A Michigan man who fended off a home invasion that ended in a shootout between him and an armed robber said he and his girlfriend were critically injured in the ordeal.
Benjamin Nevers told local news outlets that he and a friend had just returned from a trip to the Bahamas before the break-in happened.
Nevers, 24, and his girlfriend were asleep in their Dearborn Heights apartment when he heard a kitchen window break in the wee morning hours of Saturday, Jan. 25.
Home surveillance video captured the moments the forced entry escalated from a smash-and-grab to a full-blown gunfight.
The footage shows the masked suspects searching the home and taking items. One suspect is also seen forcing Nevers’ friend at gunpoint to lie on the living room floor.
Nevers told FOX2 he heard the commotion and immediately grabbed his gun.
“Then I woke up, and I was just quick enough to react to grab my gun and cock it and I just sat there and kind of waited. I knew they were going to come to my room,” Nevers said.
As soon as one of the intruders entered Nevers’ bedroom, the gunfight began and multiple shots were fired.
Video shows the exchange of gunfire as well as when Nevers crumpled to the floor from a gunshot wound he suffered while his girlfriend was still in bed wrapped in a comforter.
Nevers said his foot is completely shattered from wounds he sustained and he also took a bullet to the back. His girlfriend also suffered severe injuries.
“I know she got shot in the back, and it like traveled up and it like hit her kidney and I think it’s lodged in her chest right now – like they can’t get the bullet out cause it’s too dangerous. So, I know they are watching her and it’s going to be a couple more days,” he said.
The shootout also injured the intruder. Surveillance footage showed him limping out of the house to try to escape before he fell to the ground.
Investigators identified the suspected shooter as 21-year-old Phillip Price, who now faces 21 felony counts including assault with intent to murder and armed robbery. Police are still searching for the second suspect.
Nevers told WXYZ that his large social media following from his days as a party promoter might have tempted the suspects to target him.
“The bag that they tried to get was right there and there was a bottle of Don Julio in it and a chocolate bar and then there was a studio microphone that I have. Like, these guys did this for nothing,” Nevers said. “I’m just happy everybody is alive and well. I’m kind of glad the guy who shot me is still alive too. I don’t want to kill nobody.”
A GoFundMe was launched to help Nevers and his girlfriend with their medical and living expenses as they both recover from their injuries.
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