I-94 shooting a case of road rage, Oakland County preps for new Covid strain, Michigan's vaccine bottleneck

Michigan State Police are investigating a freeway shooting that happened late Sunday night on I-94.

Law enforcement says the shooting started as a case of road rage before it turned into something more violent. 

While there were no injuries, the victim did have his vehicle damaged during the shooting.

Police say around 7 p.m., a man traveling eastbound on I-94 between Woodward and I-75 said he heard shots had been fired at his vehicle.

The scene started when one driver performed a brake check on the other. This forced the first car to pass the vehicle before doing the same.

Eventually, the offending vehicle pulled up alongside the passenger side of the victim and began firing. 

Around 2-3 rounds were fired before the two vehicles separated.

The suspect vehicle exited I-94 at Van Dyke in an unknown direction of travel. 

The shooting closed down the highway for several hours.

Police are still investigating the shooting.

More contagious COVID-19 variant "probably already here" in Oakland County

County executive Dave Coulter said that even without any test confirming its presence, himself and other health experts believe that B.1.1.7 is likely already spreading in the county.

Similar to the weeks leading up to the pandemic's arrival when COVID-19 was first detected in Michigan, it's likely a more infectious strain first reported in the United Kingdom is in Michigan's most populous county.

Health officials are sounding alarms about a potential outbreak in Washtenaw County, while another B.1.1.7 case has been reported in Wayne County.

"We believe that since it’s in those other counties, it’s probably already here," Coulter said Sunday. "We may not have detected it yet…. We go under the assumption that it is in our communities."

But just because it's in Oakland County, doesn't mean its spread can't be abated.

"It just means we have to double down on these practices," Coulter said.

Vaccine demand exceeds supply in Michigan

When Michigan was preparing for its rollout of the vaccine, it had set a lofty goal of 50,000 injections a day. At that rate, by August it would have had 70% of people over the age of 16 inoculated - enough for herd immunity standards.

But at its current rate - 29,000 a day - it will take more than a year to hit the same benchmark. Michigan's governor blames the federal government for bottlenecking supply.

"That's our universal frustration," Gretchen Whitmer said. "We have the capacity and the plan to do a lot more vaccinations quicker. But the federal government ... it's been hard. They have not gotten us what we need."

Whitmer and others are hoping the incoming Biden administration will help boost supplies, which has promised 100 million vaccinations in 100 days.

After a bumpy start, Michigan is vaccinating more people per capita than many states are. Its rate was 18th-highest Saturday, a marked improvement from when it was seventh-lowest less than three weeks ago.

House fire victim gets impersonated after tragedy

Tammy Lynne Channell's new year had gotten off to a fresh start. She and her fiance, along with their pets, had moved into a new home in 2021. 

All their belongings had been moved into a new mobile home in Ira Township, located in St. Clair County. But late last week, they came home to fire trucks and burned-down house.

"I said, um, this can't be. I'm thinking, is our place on fire? This is a joke," she said. 

Tammy posted about it on her Facebook. Shortly after, a friend sent her screenshots of someone impersonating her on social media. 

"I just couldn't believe that somebody would do that. I got the message, and I was just shocked, and someone said, is this you? I said, 'no, this is not me,'" she said.

Child hurt in non-fatal shooting Sunday night

A toddler is in the hospital after accidentally shooting themselves in a Detroit home over the weekend.

Late Sunday night, police responded to reports of a shooting in the 14400 block of Hubbell

Upon arrival, they said a 4-year-old boy had discovered a weapon inside the house and accidentally shot it.

The victim was privately taken to a local hospital and is listed in stable condition.

Police did not release any other information at this time.

Michigan mobilizing more National Guard for COVID-19 response

The state is deploying more members of the National Guard in preparation for boosting testing and hopefully increasing vaccination rates around the state.

Three additional task forces were sent to assist the state health department and local health agencies, being deployed in four regions of the state - northern, middle, western, and southeast Michigan.

"The availability of a COVID-19 vaccine is exciting as this allows us to go on the offensive against this ruthless disease," said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Paul Rogers, adjutant general and director of the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. "This will help reduce the risk and safeguard Michiganders during this pandemic."

The state has continually increased the eligibility rates for getting a vaccine, opening up a need for more assistance from Michigan's emergency response crews. 

Live on FOX 2

Daily Forecast

Temperatures will hover in the twenties for much of the day before more snow descends tonight and tomorrow. 

Biden to reinstate COVID-19 travel rules

President Joe Biden on Monday will formally reinstate COVID-19 travel restrictions on non-U.S. travelers from Brazil, Ireland, the United Kingdom and 26 other European countries that allow travel across open borders, according to two White House officials.

The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the order, also confirmed Sunday that South Africa would be added to the restricted list because of concerns about a variant of the virus that has spread beyond that nation.

Biden is reversing an order from President Donald Trump in his final days in office that called for the relaxation of the travel restrictions as of Tuesday.

The decision to reverse the order is not surprising, but the addition of South Africa to the restricted travel list highlights the new administration’s concern about mutations in the virus.

The South Africa variant has not been discovered in the United States, but another variant — originating in the United Kingdom — has been detected in several states.