A Detroit man and his daughter are dead after they tried to take possession of a home he’d purchased at a foreclosure auction.
Howard Franklin, 72, and his daughter, Catherine, 37, were shot and killed last Friday after an armed confrontation at the foreclosure the elder Franklin had recently purchased, according to a report from the Detroit Free Press.
Per the Free Press report, the Franklins arrived at the home while the family who’d previously owned the home was moving out. A relative of the family, Alonzo Long, 22, was helping the family move.
But when the Franklins arrived at the home, a heated conversation ensued.
From the Free Press report:
According to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, Long and some other men were inside the house allegedly removing not only belongings from the house but also fixtures — generally considered part of a house when it is sold and thus the property of the buyer. That's when the Franklins, both armed, confronted Long and the others.
The victims and the shooter were legally permitted to carry guns, according to police. Police would not confirm whether there was an exchange of gunfire.
The Free Press story states that Long was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and remanded to jail without bail.
Wayne County Deputy Treasurer David Szymanski told the Free Press that a shooting over an eviction is rare, and advised people who buy foreclosed properties to follow the legal process.
"This is the first incident of this nature that has occurred. Hopefully it is a complete aberration," Szymanksi told the Free Press. "When somebody is being dispossessed from their home it is an extremely emotional situation and one has to be cautious in doing so.”
