Police: Men in Burger King knife fight were strangers, will be hospitalized overnight
![071612_NEWS_BK_Stabbing_MRM_03[5].jpg](http://www.annarbor.com/assets_c/2012/07/071612_NEWS_BK_Stabbing_MRM_03[5]-thumb-350x232-117170.jpg)
Investigators look on as a motorcycle is loaded into a truck to be taken away from the Pittsfield Township Burger King Monday, following a stabbing outside the restaurant.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
Pittsfield Township Director of Public Safety Matt Harshberger said the 32-year-old Saline man and the 46-year-old Brooklyn (Mich.) man did not know each other prior to the altercation shortly after 11:30 a.m. Monday outside the Burger King, 6190 W. Michigan Ave. An initial police statement said the Saline man showed the knife and stabbed the Brooklyn man several times.
The Brooklyn man managed to take the knife away from the Saline man and stabbed him several times in return, police said. Harshberger said the Brooklyn man ended up getting the worst of the altercation, but both men will be held at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Superior Township overnight to be treated for their injuries.
“From what we’re getting right now, one of the two men is in serious condition, but we do not believe it’s life threatening,” Harshberger said.
The restaurant was closed for a few hours while police investigated the stabbing Monday afternoon, but was open by 3:15 p.m. A woman who answered the phone at the Burger King declined to comment on the incident, directing questions to headquarters.
Numbered evidence cards led from the east entrance of the restaurant north through the parking lot into woods that run behind the Burger King and Quantum Physical Therapy, which is next door. Yellow crime scene tape wrapped around the entrances and exits of the Burger King caught the eye of many motorists driving down Michigan Avenue, with some yelling to other motorists that the restaurant had been robbed. There was no evidence of that Monday afternoon.
Several would-be customers pulled up to the store and turned away after finding the restaurant closed for investigation around 1 p.m. Monday.
Police are continuing to investigate the incident and believe everyone involved is accounted for.
No one else is a suspect in the stabbing and police are not searching for any other people, Hashberger said.
Police are still investigating what started the argument and there were multiple witnesses inside the restaurant when the fight occurred, Harshberger said. Investigators are still interviewing the men in an attempt to confirm more facts, he said.
The case could be turned over to the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office for review as early as Tuesday morning, Harshberger said.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
Sallyxyz
Wed, Jul 18, 2012 : 12:38 a.m.
Extreme behavior for stupid reasons. Just another example of the breakdown of civility in today's society. Why are they carrying knives in the first place?
nickcarraweigh
Wed, Jul 18, 2012 : 9:11 p.m.
Because they can
Phew!
Tue, Jul 17, 2012 : 2:39 p.m.
Sorry - the above was a reply to an earlier thread and I did not mean for it to be placed here.
walker101
Tue, Jul 17, 2012 : 1:26 p.m.
I guess they didn't have their way?
gpg
Tue, Jul 17, 2012 : 1:02 p.m.
What is the relevance of the photo posted along with this story? Honestly, if one of these overgrown tantrum throwing children had been driving a Buick, would we see it being loaded on a flatbed? The fact that one of these clowns was on a Honda or maybe a Suzuki, it is hard to tell has no bearing on them getting into a knife "fight" anymore then if they we driving a Yugo. Perhaps the intent was to show what big, bad, out of control "bikers" do? Well at least he had a helmet or we would hear about that as well. Give it a rest.
Ron Granger
Tue, Jul 17, 2012 : 12:39 p.m.
From the limited info we have, this story seems to be the perfect example of why knives are such lousy weapons. The victim in this case was critically injured. And yet he was still able to take the knife away from the attacker and stab him with it. But without medical care, it sounds like the victim might have died anyway. The result here could have been two dead guys from one knife. That's the thing about knives. They can inflict a fatal injury, but it might take 20 minutes for the victim to bleed out. Meanwhile, the fight can, and often does, continue. The best hope is that brandishing the knife will stop the conflict before it happens. In this case it did not. Pepper spray is a far better defensive weapon, because it has an immediate effect.
Major
Tue, Jul 17, 2012 : 2:10 p.m.
Not to mention "sharing a knife" may have it's own blood born hazards!
Roadman
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 11:59 p.m.
Reminds me of a case a few years back when a Rally's drive thru worker had an order that was not filled correctly tossed back at her in the drive-thru window; she tossed back at the angry customer who drove home and returned to shoot her. Seems silly to shoot a fast food worker over a poor service but I am sure this incident likely had similarly ridiculous motives.
lm
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 11:31 p.m.
I am a little shocked.... and a little at Ann Arbor News too...that you allow comments, people poking fun at something, someone, when really this was pretty serious, it's just that no one died from it. Would have been a whole different story...from bloggers as well. Sorry!!!! I like jokes too, but not at someone else's expense, especially a newpaper article so close to home where these people have friends and families. I bet they're laughing right along with you.....ya right.
anti-thug
Tue, Jul 17, 2012 : 5:27 a.m.
lighten up ,nobbody died and we dont want to be depressed all the time!
sagasha
Tue, Jul 17, 2012 : 3:35 a.m.
Thanks Im.He is a dear friend and I'm outta my mind with worry. People are so desensitized to this kind of thing. It's OK though... what goes around comes around 100% of the time.
lm
Tue, Jul 17, 2012 : 1:21 a.m.
Ahhh...stand corrected. I meant "M-Live" anyway.
A2Kim
Tue, Jul 17, 2012 : 12:46 a.m.
Sorry, Im, but The Ann Arbor News closed three years ago...this is A2.com. Also, poking fun at people has been going on in the comments section of A2.com for the same amount of time.
djacks24
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 9:51 p.m.
Another good reason for open carry. If everyone else might be strapped, he would've had to think a lot harder about pulling that knife, or anything else for that matter.
Major
Tue, Jul 17, 2012 : 2:04 p.m.
djacks24 I prefer the more common name..."Peacemaker"
djacks24
Tue, Jul 17, 2012 : 1:48 p.m.
"Bullets flying everywhere hitting innocent bystanders. What a good idea...........People don't really think in those situations." You folks watch way to much TV. You just assume armed citizens get possessed by the power of a weapon and won't hesitate to pull the trigger. Hilarious! My point being, in the 1800s when the Colt 45 was introduced, it was called the "Equalizer". Similar scenario a good friend of mine likes to use, where and when in Michigan is it a lot less likely than anywhere else a violent crime be committed? The answer being the Michigan forests during hunting season.
Ron Granger
Tue, Jul 17, 2012 : 12:40 p.m.
I think I saw that movie. It was called "Shootout at the BK Corral"
Richard
Tue, Jul 17, 2012 : 11:15 a.m.
Bullets flying everywhere hitting innocent bystanders. What a good idea...........People don't really think in those situations.
MIKE
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 10:22 p.m.
Or, he would have pulled a gun.
djacks24
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 9:46 p.m.
"Pittsfield Township Director of Public Safety Matt Harshberger said the 32-year-old Saline man and the 46-year-old Brooklyn (Mich.) man did not know each other prior to the altercation shortly after 11:30 a.m. Monday outside the Burger King" Monday lunch time BK knife fight? Really curious to read what might've caused this, if A2.com bothers to follow up...
shutthefrtdoor
Tue, Jul 17, 2012 : 5:58 p.m.
@Ypsivet ...the perp is lucky he did bring a knife to a gun fight IMO. The CPL numbers are at right around 1-20 as of last month. Ya just never know...
YpsiVeteran
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 10:57 p.m.
Djacks, does a dude who would pull a knife on a total stranger really need a reason? And if he has one, how much chance is there that it would make sense to your average non-homicidal citizen?
djacks24
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 9:56 p.m.
And across the street from the police station no less...?
a2citizen
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 9:53 p.m.
Can't speculate here...but if we could I'd say road rage.
RJA
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 9:31 p.m.
How in the hell does one even get into a fight with a stranger? (much worse than getting into a fight someone known to you)
snapshot
Tue, Jul 17, 2012 : 2:18 p.m.
Road Rage?
YpsiVeteran
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 10:53 p.m.
It's incredible, isn't it? People are insane. Lots of them, especially south of M59 and east of I-69. And they're all out walking around, pretending to be normal, until the wind blows the wrong way or someone takes too long to order a filet o'fish, or whatever. I'm beginning to think that whole cabin in the woods/hermit thing has some merit.
cibachrome
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 9:31 p.m.
So is a harsh burger a big cheese? And, do you want flies with that? This is why we go to Wendys. There's no cutting in line...
Silly Sally
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 8:55 p.m.
I wonder what started this silly fight? What a lack of concern that Pittsfield Twp.Director of Public Safety Matt Harshberger seems to have for the local business, Burger King. He closed the restaurant during lunch for several hours. How arrogant of him. Not just a section, but also the entire place, even the drive-thru, it seems. I understand that the police have a job to do, but so do the Burger King employees. Police seem to do more and more of this; after traffic accidents they close a highway for hours, backing up traffic. This didn't happen much 10 or 20 years ago.
shutthefrtdoor
Tue, Jul 17, 2012 : 5:55 p.m.
It took me so long to pick my jaw up from my desk...I forgot what I was going to say...
sagasha
Tue, Jul 17, 2012 : 3:31 a.m.
That may be the most idiotic statement I've read in a long, long time. The police had no way of knowing if either person was going to live or die. That question alone warrants closure of the premises so they can do their investigation in a lawful and thorough manner. The only reason you'll ever see a highway closed is because of this or because the road is unsafe. Maybe we should just go stomping through there though... wouldn't want to be late to a soccer game because of a little thing like a death or a murder know would we. Silly Sally you have aptly named yourself. Congrats to you as my dear friend lays bleeding in St. Joes. If we left it up to you we'd just keep on serving up Happy Meals as they mop up the blood!
YpsiVeteran
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 10:47 p.m.
I thought at first you must be joking, but it would appear not. I seriously doubt the Twp. Public Safety Director was at the scene, or personally closed anything. I bet the officer in charge, maybe a detective or two, were able to handle Crime Scene 101 without the help of the head of the department. As A2 pointed out, there was, most likely, quite a bit of blood all over, also. This is what is known as a bio-hazard. Perhaps you'd like to try to keep your 5 yr old from flip-flopping through a puddle of someone else's blood on her way to a kid's meal, but the rest of us would not. I bet the Burger King owner was ok with losing a couple hours worth of business on a Monday, but if you're worried, I suggest you offer him a cash donation. As it relates to closing the highway, more people get into crashes rubber-necking past major accident scenes than you might be able to comprehend, especially now that everyone's phoning ET and texting while they drive, not to mention working navigation equipment, fiddling with iDrive or Comand or Entune or MyFord Touch, etc.. The road is closed for the safety of the investigating officers, out of respect for the victims, and to keep more people from getting hurt.
a2citizen
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 9:37 p.m.
Sally, would you expect the owner to put up signs: "Please step around the blood" ?
Silly Sally
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 9:23 p.m.
And Ron, if you were the owner, and you lost about $1,000 in sales, would you hold the same opinion? Or, would you be out there asking them if they could work with you and keep part of the place open, Besides, our soft-on-crime judges will let them off.
Ron Granger
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 9 p.m.
If someone you know had been attacked, or run off the road and killed, I'm pretty certain you'd want police to collect all possible evidence in their investigation of the facts and what happened. If that impacts the sale of a few McBurger Chunk Meals, so be it.
Ricebrnr
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 8:31 p.m.
"An initial police statement said the Saline man showed the knife" "showed"??? I suppose that's accurate but I would think "brandished" would connote more gravitas
Piledriver
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 8:14 p.m.
What a Whopper of a story! If this had happened at McDonald's, would the police had to classify this crime as a Big Mac Attack?
Jimmy McNulty
Tue, Jul 17, 2012 : 12:05 p.m.
If it happened @ McDonald's, everyone would have a Grimace.
SEC Fan
Tue, Jul 17, 2012 : 12:19 a.m.
I'm betting the Hamburgler was involved...
Ron Granger
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 9:03 p.m.
No way. This could never happen at McDonalds. Big Mac is actually the chief of police at McDonalds, and he wouldn't allow anything like this. Mayor McCheese runs a tight ship.
lm
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 8:49 p.m.
Really? And you are in what grade?
John of Saline
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 8:11 p.m.
Another reminder that arguing with strangers is rarely a good idea.
Phew!
Tue, Jul 17, 2012 : 2:26 p.m.
Well, I look at it a little bit differently - that person already knows where I live and is trying to control the way in which I live there. While I wouldn't escalate the situation, I also wouldn't capitulate to someone attempting to control what I do in my living space. I do not see it as a matter of pride AT ALL, but much more a matter of how I want to live - afraid, or free. In another earlier circumstance this man threatened another person outside of my home with a gun (I think the person being threatened at that time was his father). Somebody nearby called the police. This person forever thought it was my household that called the police which is why I believe he started targeting me for harassment. While I would be careful, and work to diffuse and not escalate - I would not let another person make me afraid in my own home - nor would I role model that to my children. Again, not a matter of pride, just a matter of how you want to live. In my opinion.
snapshot
Tue, Jul 17, 2012 : 2:15 p.m.
Phew, outside your home is one place you should not engage in the "escalation" of an arguement with a stranger because that person now knows where you live. You should concentrate on defusing such an arguement. In standing your ground in a non life threatning situation with a stranger where you live you are creating the potential for life threating retaliation in which you may not be able to defend yourself or your family. don't let your pride over rule common sense.
Major
Tue, Jul 17, 2012 : 1:59 p.m.
Right on Phew! Stand your ground! Don't be a passive sheeple!!!
Phew!
Tue, Jul 17, 2012 : 12:18 p.m.
I don't know John. I would say that is good advice most of the time. But you do not want to live life intimidated by others. I've been in my own doorway before and aggressively told to shut it by a someone "known to local law enforcement". That is one place I am definitely not going to let someone make me feel intimidated. So, I would risk some injury - possibly even death - to be able to live without that kind of intimidation. Not arguing with strangers sounds simple, but the alternative - living in fear - could possibly be far more crippling. Just my opinion.