An autistic teenager who was mistakenly dropped off in the wrong neighborhood by an Uber driver was shot in the back while attempting to flee two attackers.
Claude Woosk, 18, ended up on the corner of Lenox Street and East Warren Avenue on Detroit’s east side last month, rather than his home in nearby River Rouge. It was not immediately clear how the two addresses got mixed up.
Panicked and confused by the unfamiliar surroundings, the teen’s family told FOX 2 that he called his sister, Violet Woosk, who advised him to take a photo of a nearby address so that his family could come and pick him up.
According to authorities, Woosk encountered Robert Pugh, 47, and another man, who allegedly frisked the teen and accused him of photographing his home.
“Some guy came out and yelled, ‘Why are you taking pictures of the house?'” Violet Woosk recalls hearing from the other end of the phone during the April 9 incident.
The victim’s sister stated that Woosk pleaded with the men and promised to delete the photograph.
“All you heard was my brother saying, ‘Ow ow ow,’ and then it was complete silence,” she said, followed by screams.
As Woosk turned to flee, Pugh allegedly fired a handgun, hitting the teen in the lower back.
Violet Woosk said her brother was unarmed and screaming at the men, claiming he was lost and trying to find his way home.
First responders arrived on the scene and transported Woosk to a nearby hospital in critical condition. Doctors worked to save his kidney, but warned that he could eventually be paralyzed.
According to FOX 2, Woosk was released from the hospital around April 18.
The Detroit Police Department stated that Pugh surrendered on April 15. Two days later, he was charged with murder, assault with intent to cause great bodily harm, carrying a weapon with unlawful intent, and three counts of felony firearms.
During Pugh’s first appearance in a Detroit courthouse on April 17, defense attorney Carla Marable stated that she believes Woosk’s shooting was “a mis-identification.”
Marable stated that Pugh did not live in the home near Warren and Lenox and had no prior criminal record.
The defendant is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary examination on Friday, which was rescheduled from Monday.