Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Politics/National
NationalNewsRace

Michigan Man Charged with Firing Shotgun at Teen Asking for Directions Expected to Stand Trial, Prosecutors Say

Posted byBy Tanasia Kenney | Published on: CommentsComments (0)
Jeffrey Zeigler Trial

Jeffrey Zeigler (left) nearly killed 14-year-old Brennan Walker when the teen showed up at his door looking for directions. (Images courtesy of Oakland County Sheriff’s Office / Fox 2 Detroit)

A Rochester Hills man accused of firing his gun at a teen who knocked on his door looking for directions is expected to stand trial.

Jeffrey Zeigler, 53, was bound over to circuit court on Tuesday after waiving his preliminary hearing on assault with the intent to murder and gun charges stemming from the April 12 shooting, the Associated Press reported. Defense attorney Robert Morad told the news site that all issues of the case will be dealt with at the upcoming trial.

No formal date has been set yet.

Brennan Walker, 14, nearly lost his life the day he stopped at Zeigler”s doorstep to ask for directions. The teen told police he’d missed the school bus that morning and was attempting to make the four-mile trek to school when he got lost. In search of help, Walker knocked on a stranger’s door and was met by Zeigler’s wife, who accused the Black teen of trying to rob her.

Moments later, the teen said Zeigler came running down the stairs with his shotgun and fired a shot at him. He missed, however, and Walker was able to get away unharmed.

“My mom says that Black boys get shot because sometimes they don’t look their age, and I don’t look my age. I’m 14; but I don’t look 14,” he told Fox 2 Detroit earlier this year. “I’m kind of happy that, like, I didn’t become a statistic.”

Zeigler could face life behind bars if found guilty.

Still independent.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top