The Shooting on Kansas Avenue

A Saginaw teenager was arraigned Tuesday on charges that he fired 25 rounds from an assault rifle into a Bridgeport Township home while no one was inside.

Christopher A. Aldridge-Hamilton, 18, appeared before Saginaw County District Judge A.T. Frank on June 17. The judge set his bond at $500,000 cash-surety and scheduled a preliminary examination for July 8, according to court records.

How Police Tracked the Suspect

The shooting happened on the afternoon of May 19, prosecutors allege. A resident on Kansas Avenue called 911 to report a young man had pulled into a neighboring driveway.

The caller told police the man exited a vehicle holding an assault rifle and emptied a full clip into the house, according to prosecutors. The gunman returned to the car and fled before officers arrived.

Officers recovered about 25 spent shell casings at the scene. The targeted house bore several bullet holes. A neighbor's surveillance camera captured the gunfire, prosecutors said.

Police tracked the suspect vehicle to a home and interviewed the driver. The driver told investigators they had picked up Aldridge-Hamilton and several others, who directed them to the Kansas Avenue address, prosecutors allege.

The driver identified the gunman as Christopher A. Aldridge-Hamilton, 18, saying they had gone to school with him, prosecutors allege.

The driver said they were unaware of the shooter's plan and dropped off Aldridge-Hamilton and the others near Maplewood and Sheridan avenues in Saginaw immediately after the shooting, prosecutors contend.

The Charges

Prosecutors issued a warrant for Aldridge-Hamilton on May 22. Saginaw police arrested him the evening of June 16, according to court documents.

He faces the following charges:

  • Discharging a firearm in or at a building: A 10-year felony
  • Carrying a weapon with unlawful intent: A five-year felony
  • Two counts of felony firearm: Each mandates a minimum two-year prison sentence consecutive to any other sentence

Why It Matters

The shooting left residents on Kansas Avenue with a riddled home and unanswered questions about who the target was supposed to be. No one was inside the house at the time, but the barrage of gunfire prompted a 911 call and a police investigation that lasted more than a month.

A Facebook post from the local outlet Breaking News 989 described the scene on Kansas Avenue. A caller reported a man in all-black clothing exited a red four-door sedan with an AR-style rifle and began shooting at the house. The post said police heard about 40 shots and that no one was hit.

Aldridge-Hamilton remains in custody on the $500,000 bond. His next court date is July 8 for a preliminary examination.

Cole Waterman, a public safety reporter for MLive, reported the original details of the charges and arraignment.