No charges for Dearborn woman with a concealed pistol license who shot a man during a fight inside a shoe store

DEARBORN, Mich. — A 30-year-old Dearborn woman who shot a man during a fight inside a shoe store on Saturday, Oct. 17, will not face criminal charges, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office has decided, WXYZ Channel 7 reported.

Prosecutors said there is not enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she was not acting in self-defense or in defense of someone else, according to the station. The decision came three days after the shooting.

What happened. The shooting happened just after 6 p.m. inside White House Kicks, near Ford Road and Oakman Boulevard, police said. The woman called 911 herself and told the dispatcher she had just had to shoot somebody, WXYZ reported from dispatch audio.

Security video released by Dearborn police shows her walking into the store with her 36-year-old boyfriend. After he greets a man who appears to be a shopper, another man attacks him, and the woman pulls a handgun from her purse and fires. The man who was shot, 33, was hit in the back and remained in critical condition, police said.

Police Chief Issa Shahin said the woman holds a concealed pistol license and that the people involved appeared to know each other. “It’s clear they were acquaintances somehow before they saw each other inside the store, and obviously they didn’t like each other, because it escalated into a fight,” he told the station.

Shahin said the charging decision belongs to Prosecutor Kym Worthy and that he has faith in her office’s work. The case may not be closed: “There’s a possibility that those charges may be filed against the people that instigated the fight,” he said. WXYZ did not name anyone involved.

What Michigan law says. Michigan’s Self-Defense Act, passed in 2006, lets a person who is not committing a crime use deadly force anywhere they have a legal right to be, with no duty to retreat, if they honestly and reasonably believe it is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to themselves or to another person, or an imminent sexual assault. Prosecutors cited both self-defense and the defense of another person.

What this means for you. A concealed pistol license lets a holder carry a hidden handgun; it does not by itself make a shooting lawful. The law’s protection depends on the facts: the shooter can’t be engaged in a crime, and the fear of death or serious injury has to be both honest and reasonable. In this case prosecutors found the evidence, including the store’s video, didn’t let them prove otherwise. Shahin’s advice to everyone else was simpler: “Just be aware of your surroundings and always be cautious no matter where you are.”

Sources:
WXYZ Channel 7, “Prosecutors won’t charge Dearborn woman who shot man inside shoe store,” Oct. 20, 2026 (prosecutor’s decision, police account, video, Shahin quotes), https://www.wxyz.com/news/prosecutors-wont-charge-dearborn-woman-who-shot-man-inside-shoe-store
Michigan Legislature, MCL 780.972, Self-Defense Act, Sec. 2 (use of deadly force, no duty to retreat), https://legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-780-972
Photo: Rachel Wickremasinghe, “Dearborn Police Department Building with sign, landscape orientation.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dearborn_Police_Department_Building_with_sign,_landscape_orientation.jpg

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Tags: Dearborn · Public Safety · Self-Defense · Concealed Pistol License · Wayne County Prosecutor · Dearborn Police