Boy, 12, in Custody After Robbing Michigan Gas Station at Gunpoint

A 12-year-old boy fired a gun he was using in an armed robbery of a gas station in Michigan, according to police.

The suspect entered a Marathon gas station in Hartford, Michigan, on Wednesday June 1 and demanded money.

Video surveillance from the robbery—that has now gone viral on social media with over 92,000 views—shows the moment the 12-year-old confronted the clerk in the gas station.

In the video, the suspect waits for a customer to leave before pulling a gun out of his bag and pointing it at the clerk.

The suspect can then be heard asking the clerk to "put the money in the bag." He is then asked if he is being serious, at which point he fires the gun at the ceiling.

The cashier then does as requested and hands the bag and money to the suspect who then leaves the store.

The 12-year-old was subsequently apprehended in a nearby parking lot, according to a CBS Detroit report. Authorities say the boy faces a long list of charges and may be tried as an adult, according to an ABC 7 Chicago report.

Lt. Michael Prince of the Hartford Police Department spoke about his surprise after learning the age of the suspect.

"It flabbergasted me that a young person, in broad daylight, no mask, would walk right into a business with other customers and announce an armed robbery," he said.

The suspect was able to get the gun after taking it out of a locked cabinet in his home.

"It is very concerning. The school shootings that we're seeing every day, the violence we're seeing in churches," Prince added.

"I think the father had good intentions, but I think he learned a valuable lesson that he needs to secure the firearm even better than he did because this young man was able to pry the door open."

In 2021 Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer called for more to be done to prevent gun violence in the state.

Following a shooting at Oxford High School in November, Whitmer made a speech describing gun violence as a public health crisis, according to a Michigan Live report.

"As Michiganders, we have a responsibility to do everything we can to protect each other from gun violence," she said.

"No one should be afraid to go to school, work, a house of worship or even their own home.

"Gun violence is a public health crisis that claims lives every day. We have the tools to reduce gun violence in Michigan."

Newsweek has contacted the Hartford Police Department for comment.

Correction 06/08/22, 4:05 a.m. EDT: This article was updated to remove comments by mayor of Hartford, Connecticut, Luke Bronin.