80-year-old Trump supporter struck by ATV driver in Michigan recovering; deceased suspect's name released
'We don’t have to agree with each other at all times, but we as a community need to come together.'
The elderly man who was run down by an ATV driver in an apparently politically motivated attack in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan last weekend is back home and recovering, cops say, and the identity of the suspect in the case has now been released.
Last Sunday, a suspect driving an ATV unleashed a show of rage against signs and images supporting law enforcement and/or former President Donald Trump, as Blaze News previously reported. The suspect apparently damaged tire valves, smashed windows, and even tore off a mirror on at least two vehicles sporting Trump or "thin blue line" stickers in Hancock, Michigan, a small city at the base of the Keweenaw Peninsula, the stretch of land in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan that juts out into Lake Superior.
'We’re looking into the media devices and hoping that we find some indication in those devices themselves as to what his mindset would have been.'
In addition to the acts of vandalism, the ATV driver also targeted an 80-year-old Hancock man who had Trump signs posted on his front lawn. First, the driver tore the signs down. When the man attempted to put them back up, the ATV driver ran him down from behind, causing serious injuries, reportedly including a brain bleed.
The Hancock Police Department has since shared a promising update about the victim and his condition. He was released from the hospital on Wednesday night and "will be recovering at home," the police statement said.
Hancock Police Chief Tami Sleeman called the victim's improvement "really good news."
In the press release, the department also revealed the name of the suspect: Joshua Kemppainen, a 22-year-old resident of Quincy Township, just north of Hancock.
On Monday, Hancock police received a call from an individual believed to be Kemppainen. The caller wanted to "confess a crime involving an ATV driver within the last 24 hours" and asked cops to come pick him up.
When deputies and officers arrived at the Quincy residence associated with the caller, they found Kemppainen dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. On his property, they found the ATV believed to have struck the elderly Hancock man as well as clothing that matched clothes seen on surveillance images of the ATV driver. They also confiscated some digital devices that will be passed along for forensic analysis at the Michigan State Crime Lab in Marquette.
"We did not find any notes or anything like that at this point," said Houghton County Sheriff Josh Saaranen. "We’re looking into the media devices and hoping that we find some indication in those devices themselves as to what his mindset would have been, or his MO."
Kemppainen "had no prior known contacts with local law enforcement," the police press release said.
In the wake of the apparently politically motivated attacks, Sheriff Saaranen called for unity. "We don’t have to agree with each other at all times," he said, " but we as a community need to come together."
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Cortney Weil
Sr. Editor, News