One Dead, One Arrested In Shooting At Michigan Automotive Parts Plant Making Jeep Seats

A 40-year-old man was shot and killed on Wednesday after a fight between coworkers at an automotive parts supply plant close to Detroit.

The unnamed dead man and a 29-year-old suspect for the shooting who is currently in police custody were both employed at the Forvia facility in Highland Park, MI, that makes seats for Stellantis vehicles including the Jeep Wagoneer.

Highland Park Police say the incident started with a fight over the use of  a tool inside the plant, but continued outside when both men were escorted from the building. The 29-year-old man refused hospital treatment and got into his car to drive away, but spotted the 40-year-old victim sitting in his own car.

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“The victim got out and proceeded to approach the shooter at his car. Words were exchanged, and then there was gunfire,” Highland Park Police Deputy Chief Darrell Patterson told The Detroit News.

Officers were only half a block away when the shots were fired and were quickly on the scene, but by victim was pronounced dead Detroit Medical Center’s Detroit Receiving Hospital at 09.30.

A Forvia spokesperson said the plant was continuing to operate, although some employees chose to go home after the shooting.

“Our priority is the safety of our team and supporting them in any way we can,” the company said in a statement. “We are working closely with the local authorities as they conduct their investigation.”

The Detroit News notes that the shooting occurred only a day after Forvia announced that it was laying off 268 employees at the Highland Park plant. The company is closing the site’s metals department that makes seat frames and moving production to another site that it has declined to name, but which Crain’s Detroit Business says is in Mexico. Police don’t believe the shooting is related to the layoffs.