Incident

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1-01-2023 Michigan Lawrence 2-1

Location

January 01, 2023

57000 block of 60th Ave
Lawrence, Michigan

Participants

Type: Victim
Name: David Reed
Age: 35
Age Group: Adult 18+
Gender: Male
Status: Killed

Type: Victim
Name: Jason McCreary
Age: 40
Age Group: Adult 18+
Gender: Male
Status: Killed

Type: Subject-Suspect
Relationship: Friends
Name: Christopher Alan Toppenberg
Age: 62
Age Group: Adult 18+
Gender: Male
Status: Unharmed, Arrested

Incident Characteristics

Shot - Dead (murder, accidental, suicide)
Accidental Shooting
Accidental Shooting - Death
Stray bullet
Playing with gun
House party / Block Party / Park Party
Under the influence of alcohol or drugs (only applies to the subject/suspect/perpetrator )
Assault weapon (AR-15, AK-47, and ALL variants defined by law enforcement)

Notes

woods in Van Buren Co. near County Rd 681; celebratory gunfire (AR-15) as partygoers lit fireworks; 2 second-deg murder charges dropped; pled to firearm discharge under the influence w/ 1 yr sentence

Guns Involved

1 gun involved.

Type: 223 Rem [AR-15]

Sources

URL: https://www.woodtv.com/news/van-buren-county/deputies-2-dead-after-man-starts-shooting-at-new-years-party/

URL: https://wwmt.com/news/local/van-buren-county-new-years-eve-party-shooting-sheriff-office-60th-avenue-lawrence-michigan-fireworks

URL: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2023/01/02/michigan-man-fires-ar-15-at-new-years-eve-party-amid-fireworks-kills-two/69771513007/

URL: https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/south-mi/van-buren/van-buren-co-suspect-accused-of-killing-2-with-celebratory-gunfire-charged-with-murder

URL: https://www.bigrapidsnews.com/news/article/western-michigan-man-is-sentenced-to-a-year-in-18205350.php

District

Congressional District: 4
State Senate District: 20
State House District: 39