White couple arrested after pulling gun on black family outside restaurant
A white couple have been arrested after they were caught on camera pulling a handgun on a black woman and her family outside a restaurant in Michigan, authorities have said.
Jillian Wuestenberg, 32, and Eric Wuestenberg, 42, were charged on Thursday with felonious assault, Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper confirmed in a release.
The incident involving the couple outside a Chipotle in Orion Township, first reported by The Detroit News, went viral online after the family involved recorded the confrontation.
In the videos, which show part of the interaction, a woman can be seen with her gun pointed directly at Takelia Hill, a black woman who said the incident unfolded when she and her 15-year-old daughter Makayla Green were walking into the restaurant.
The family alleged in the moments before she began recording that Ms Wuestenberg had bumped into her daughter when she left the fast-food restaurant and that Ms Green had asked the woman for an apology after which the situation escalated and an argument ensued.
During the initial alleged confrontation, Ms Wuestenberg tried to drive away when Ms Hill ended up behind the SUV.
The video does not make clear whether Ms Hill intentionally moved behind the SUV or if the vehicle backed up toward where she was standing. Ms Hill responds by punching the back window of the vehicle, after which the two individuals inside get out and the woman pulls out the pistol.
In the video, the woman shouts “get away” and has her gun pointed directly at Ms Hill. She then yells at her to stay away from the back of her vehicle. The woman eventually gets back in her vehicle and drives off.
Sheriff Michael Bouchard told reporters that the couple, from Independence Township, both have concealed pistol licences.
Deputies seized two handguns from the couple after they were detained on Wednesday night.
DETROIT, MI—An angry exchange with accusations of racism was caught on video outside of an Oakland County Chipotle restaurant and shows a white woman pulling a gun on a mother and her three daughters Wednesday evening. pic.twitter.com/kaUVqQVdLa
— Everything DC MD & VA (@TheDMVDailyy)
Ms Cooper, the prosecutor, told the Associated Press that her office viewed the available video and looked at the facts before filing charges.
“It is an unfortunate set of circumstances that tempers run high over, basically, not much of an incident,” she said of the episode.
It was not immediately clear when the Mr and Ms Wuestenberg would be arraigned or if they have lawyers to represent them.
Additional reporting by the Associated Press.
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