DETROIT, MICHIGAN — One shot from an assault rifle killed two Detroiters in a bizarre suicide and accidental shooting, a Wayne County medical examiner ruled Sunday. Dr. Sawait Kanluen ruled that Elrod J. Hill purposely shot himself in the head with an AK-47 rifle.
The slug then mortally wounded Brian Olesky, a friend sitting on a couch next to him, the coroner said.
| Hill, 47, left a note saying he "wanted to end it all," placed the rifle butt on the couch's arm, leaned the muzzle against the right side of his head and pulled the trigger, according to police. The bullet then hit Olesky in the head. | Hill fired the AK-47 rifle, killing himself and Olesky, a friend sitting next to him. |
The victims were found in Olesky's home on Fernhill in the Seven Mile-Woodward area about 5:45 p.m. Saturday by a friend, Jeremy Stanecki, 29, of Oak Park. He declined comment. Hill lived nearby.
Relatives and neighbors of the dead men found it difficult to accept the coroner's findings.
"That's bull," said Mageline Griggs, who said the men had visited her about an hour before the shooting. "They were happy and playing around like they always do, like nothing was going on. They said they would come back later."
She was among a stream of neighbors who came to Olesky's house Sunday to comfort his family congregated out front. They told how Olesky touched the lives of many people.
"He'd walk my grandson home from school just to make sure the dogs in the neighborhood wouldn't bother him," Griggs said.
"Brian would help people in any way he could," said Kevin Rudder. "He was a good person."
"It's a tragedy," Rochell Dickerson said. "They were beautiful people. Brian would do anything to help people."
Hill's son, who also showed up, declined to comment.