WARREN, Michigan – A pregnant woman survived a brutal attack in Michigan after police said she was abducted, set on fire, shot and then left for dead.
The ex-boyfriend of the 22-year-old woman is being called “a person of interest” by police.
The victim tells police she and her ex-boyfriend had just returned from a drive-in movie in Dearborn when she dropped him off at the home of his new girlfriend in Warren.
The two pulled into the garage and then got out of the car. The garage door then suddenly closed.
Warren Police Commissioner Jere Green says the next thing she knew she was grabbed by the throat and a gun was put to her head.
Green says she was blindfolded, and duct tape was placed on her mouth and wrapped around her hands and feet.
The suspect then drove her around for about ten minutes before stopping in an alley in Detroit.
The woman, who is nine months pregnant, says she felt liquid poured on her, then heard a match strike and then she was on fire.
Green says she was able to get out of the car and start rolling on the ground, trying to put the fire out. When that happened, two shots were fired and she was struck once in the back.
She played dead, and the man took off. She was able to free herself from the duct tape and then drove away, calling her mother from a gas station and then driving to her mother's home on Detroit's east side. Her mother then took her to the hospital.
Police took her ex-boyfriend into custody for questioning. Police say he is a person of interest because he did nothing to help and did not call 911. He tells police he was sleeping and did not see the attack.
According to police, an ultrasound shows the unborn baby is healthy.
A spokesman for Detroit Receiving Hospital says the woman is listed in serious condition. She is recovering from burns to her back and head.
Police say the bullet wound to her back did not do any serious damage.
She is due to give birth in three weeks.
