Detroit Free Press from Brooksville, Fla.Casteel was arrested at his in-laws’ Wixom home Monday night, two miles from I-96, and is expected to be charged in court today.
Authorities seized weapons and a vehicle. The suspect's mother, who says Casteel has a young daughter, tells the Free Press how she got the stunning news:
“One of the family members called me last night [Monday]. They said the FBI had come earlier in the day and talked to him, and asked if they could take all of the guns out of the house. … They took the guns. Then, they [came] back later in the evening around 11 o’clock and took him in for questioning last night.
"My first thought was, oh dear God, thank you for letting him not kill anyone and maybe now he’ll get the help that he needs. . . . It’s not in his character to go around shooting at people. That’s just not him. . . .
“I believe he has developed some kind of mental illness that set in. In his right mind, he would have never done this, if he has done it."
Ingham County Sheriff Gene Wriggelsworth, part of the federal, state and local task force that broke the case, told the paper:
“The public can breathe a heavy sigh of relief today. It is my belief we have the person responsible. I’m confident we have the guy. . . . It’s just an absolute miracle to me that someone else wasn’t injured or killed.”
Only one person was hit. On Oct. 27, Scott Arnold was struck in the buttocks with a bullet as he drove on I-96 from the Kalamazoo area to a World Series game in Detroit.
Investigators fielded about 2,800 tips. Federal officials and Crime Stoppers were offering a $102,000 reward for information.
Donald Dawkins of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ office in Detroit told the Free Press potential charges will be presented to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and to prosecutors from the four counties involved. Authorities still were deciding which charges to file and where -- a district, circuit or federal court.
The Free Press dug up background on Casteel, a Michigan State University graduate who worked in environmental construction management.
