One dead, one critically injured after Upper Peninsula attack on Trump supporter

A string of several crimes on Sunday that police said appeared to be motivated by political vitriol have put the small Upper Peninsula community of Hancock on edge.

In the space of about an hour on the afternoon of July 21, according to Hancock police, a 22-year-old man riding an all-terrain vehicle through town allegedly vandalized two cars and attacked an 80-year-old man putting up signs showing support for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in his yard.

The man believed responsible for the attacks, whose name was not released Tuesday by authorities, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the Houghton County Sheriff's Office.

The Hancock Police Department received a message Monday from someone at an address in Quincy Township north of Hancock saying he wanted to "confess a crime involving an ATV driver within the last 24 hours" and that the police department should send someone to pick him up, according to the Houghton County Sheriff's Office, which responded to the call along with local police.

The man was dead when officers arrived, according to sheriff in Houghton County in Michigan's western Upper Peninsula.

According to the sheriff's office, the vehicle used by the driver was found at the residence.

Hancock Police Chief Tami Sleeman told The Detroit News the reports of the attacks spanned from about 4:45 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. Sunday, beginning with the first vandalism of a car.

Sleeman said driver reportedly shouted profanities as he drove by the elderly man putting out the political signs, then pulled the yard signs out, and finally returned to hit him from behind when the man tried to put the signs back, according to eyewitnesses. The 80-year-old man sustained serious injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition, according to a news release from the Hancock police department.

One of the vehicles had its windows smashed with a shovel, which Sleeman said was left at the scene, while the other vehicle had its tire valves removed. One of them displayed a sign in support of Trump, and the second vehicle had a "thin blue line" sign in it, which is a phrase that indicates support for law enforcement, according to Hancock police.

"What this has done to this community is pretty upsetting," Sleeman said. "Our concern is the safety of everybody here. Politics should not bring violence."

Sleeman said the police department has contacted the FBI's Michigan field office about the incident, and the main concern now is making sure the man acted alone and there isn't an ongoing public threat.

The Hancock police chief said it does not appear the suspect had a direct connection to any of the victims.

The alleged attack on the elderly man came three days after former President Trump formally accepted the Republican nomination to be the GOP's presidential nominee for the third consecutive election.

jcardi@detroitnews.com