Shoppers Thought It Was a Balloon Popping Inside a Spirit Halloween — Then the Victim’s Family Took Matters Into Their Own Hands

It was the day before Halloween.

The aisles were full of masks, costumes and last-minute shoppers.

Then came a loud “pop.”

“We thought it was a balloon because it’s a party store,” one young shopper later told FOX 2 Detroit.

It wasn’t a balloon.

And within minutes, a busy Friday afternoon at a Spirit Halloween store in Michigan had turned into a crime scene.

But the gunshots were only the beginning of what happened next.

A Normal Afternoon — Until 2 p.m.

The store sits in the Madison Place Shopping Complex on John R Road in Madison Heights, just north of Detroit.

On Friday, October 30, it was doing exactly what Halloween stores do the day before the big night.

Families. Kids. Long lines at the register.

Mikea Wilson, 21, was standing in line with her mom.

“It was the first pop; you would think it was like a loud balloon,” she told Local 4 (WDIV).

“We got to looking at each other, and then it was like pop, pop, pop; probably about five more shots came after that.”

“People started scattering like ants,” she told FOX 2.

And what shoppers didn’t know yet was that this wasn’t random at all.

“I Thought It Was Going to Be Like a Halloween Massacre”

Panic spread through the store.

Some customers dropped everything they were holding.

According to Local 4, some people left behind their belongings — and even lost their shoes — as they ran for the exits.

One worker told FOX 2: “My boss kicked down the door and we ran out the back. Knew what it was immediately.”

Another shopper, Cassandra Lanier, said she was in the middle of the store with her daughter when the shots rang out from the front, near the checkout.

“I thought it was going to be like a Halloween massacre,” she told 7 News Detroit (WXYZ).

“I thought that somebody was going around shooting people randomly honestly.”

But police would soon reveal something very different.

What Police Say Really Happened

According to Madison Heights police, two 21-year-old men got into an argument inside the store.

One was from Detroit.

The other was from Oak Park.

And they weren’t strangers.

Police say the two men knew each other.

During the altercation, police say, the Oak Park man pulled a gun and shot the Detroit man multiple times.

Officers arrived to find the 21-year-old Detroit man with several gunshot wounds.

He was rushed to a hospital.

He did not survive.

Police recovered a 9mm handgun at the scene.

Investigators say the shooting was not a random act of violence, and that there is no ongoing threat to the public.

But what happened outside the store moments later is what has everyone talking.

Then the Victim’s Family Struck Back

As officers were arresting the suspected shooter, he was attacked.

According to CBS Detroit, police said he was assaulted by the victim’s family.

FOX 2 reported that both men were taken to separate hospitals under guard.

The suspected shooter was treated for injuries police described as minor.

He remains in police custody.

And investigators say they expect to seek criminal charges.

Neither man has been publicly named by police.

But then the suspect’s wife spoke out — and her version of events is very different.

The Wife’s Shocking Claim

Her name is Alanna Benson.

She told reporters she was there.

And so were their three children.

According to her account to Local 4, the family was leaving the store when a man her husband knew — and had a prior history with — confronted him.

“He sees us and recognizes us and tells my husband, ‘What’s up?’” she said.

“And my husband’s like, ‘No, not right here,’ as he’s still walking out.”

She says the man then reached into his pocket.

They didn’t know if he had a gun.

“My husband drew his gun and was shaking,” she told the station.

Her claim is simple: it was self-defense.

“He defended me, himself, and his kids,” she said.

She told 7 News Detroit her husband holds a concealed pistol license (CPL).

And she says this was the first time he had ever fired it outside of their CPL class.

“My husband is not a bad person,” she said. “He is not in no gang.”

Police Aren’t So Sure

Those are the wife’s claims — and police have not confirmed them.

Madison Heights Police Chief Brent Lemerise told CBS Detroit that investigators are still working out key questions.

“We’re still determining if this person was legally allowed to carry the gun, whether they had any firearms training,” he said.

Here’s where things stand right now:

• A 21-year-old Detroit man is dead.
• A 21-year-old Oak Park man is in custody.
• Police say the two men knew each other.
• The suspect’s wife says it was self-defense.
• Police say they still plan to seek criminal charges.

The Store Is Now Closed

The Madison Heights Spirit Halloween has temporarily shut its doors.

Local 4 reported signs on the front doors directing customers to the chain’s Sterling Heights location instead.

On the busiest weekend of the year for Halloween stores.

Police are asking anyone who saw what happened — or has video — to call Detective Sgt. Kari Randolph at 248-837-2737.

And as families head out trick-or-treating tonight, one Michigan family is planning a funeral instead.

Another is waiting to learn whether a husband and father will be charged.

All because two men crossed paths in a costume store.