A Michigan man who fired his shotgun at a black teenager who was seeking directions to school was convicted Friday, days after the jury saw home security footage of the incident, NBC News reported.
Jeffrey Ziegler, 53, was found guilty on charges of assault with attempt to murder and possession of a firearm in commission of a felony for shooting at 14-year-old Brennan Walker in April.
Ziegler could face up to life in prison. His bond has been revoked and he is in custody awaiting sentencing.
On April 12, Walker missed the morning school bus. Left without options, he attempted to walk to school. Problem is, he didn't quite know the way.
So, as Walker wandered through an unfamiliar neighborhood, he decided he needed to try to get some directions. He ended up knocking on the door of a house belonging to Ziegler and his wife.
Ziegler's wife answered the door, and apparently thought Walker was attempting to break into the house. She called 911, and Ziegler came to the door and chased Walker away from the house with a loaded shotgun.
Walker fled, and security footage shows Ziegler running out of the house with the gun pointed. After Walker is off camera, Ziegler fires one shot in Walker's direction, which fortunately missed.
Walker was surprised by the couple's reaction to him knocking on their door.
"I knocked on her door a few times and she came down yelling at me before I could say anything and she thought I was trying to break into her house," Walker told WXYZ-TV at the time. "I was trying to explain to her that I wanted to get directions to go to my school. I told her, 'No, I go to Rochester High; I'm just looking for directions to Rochester High.'"
Ziegler claimed in court that there was "a lot more to the story than what's being told," but the home security footage clearly shows Walker's knock being met with Ziegler's armed threat and eventually a shotgun blast.
Ziegler had a previous gun-related conviction from 2005, when he was convicted of aiming a firearm without malice.
Aaron Colen
Aaron is a former staff writer for TheBlaze. He resides in Denton, Texas, and is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in journalism and a Master of Education in adult and higher education.
