A man in the Detroit suburbs went full-on 'MURICA! over Independence Day weekend by pulling out some sort of armor-plated military vehicle with a machine gun attached and began firing shots while driving through the streets.


Per reports from the Macomb Daily and WDIV, the Shelby Township — one of those otherwise bland Macomb County suburbs where people are flocking to, presumably to escape violence — man was arrested after frightened residents flooded police lines with reports of the guy causing commotion around 11 p.m.


Turns out, he wasn't firing bullets from the modified, 50-caliber machine gun, but shooting off compressed gas that emits bright light and simulates the sound of gunfire. There aren't any other details about the actual vehicle, only that's it's from the days of World War II.

This sounds awesome, but probably best to alert your local constabulary and your neighbors that it isn't a real gun.

It's worth noting that two years in Michigan, Gov. Rick Snyder passed a law loosening our fireworks restrictions, allowing for more-powerful explosives to fall into the hands of your local boom nuts and also terrifying the state's canine populace all summer.

Not that I'm a legal expert here, but this guy could skate with a good defense if this law comes into play.


UPDATE: The owner of the tank was later identified as John Lind, a veteran of the Marines, the Navy and the Air Force, according to his website. Lind runs the Detroit Arsenal of Democracy, a museum "specializing in WWII-era military vehicles" (which should answer this QOTD firmly) and has, quite frankly, a ton of cool-looking tanks, motorcycles and Jeeps from the era.


Despite Lind's apparent lack of judgment, you can't deny he's curated quite the collection. Check out one of the many the photo collections here, and local war buffs can check out the calendar of events here.

[Photo via AP]