On a quiet Sunday morning in May 2020, the community of Bear Lake, Michigan, was shaken by a violent series of events that resulted in the death of 28-year-old Aundre Lamont Hernandez II. On May 24th, deputies and emergency responders were dispatched to a residence on Potter Road around 7:31 a.m. following reports of a shooting. Witnesses at the scene reported that an individual had pulled into the driveway, shot Hernandez multiple times, and then fled.
The ensuing investigation quickly
identified a suspect, Stephen Gene-Henry Shawnoski, and a search for him began. The situation escalated when, at approximately 8:37 a.m., another call came in to Manistee County Central Dispatch reporting shots fired on Coates Highway in Dickson Township. It is believed the suspect was attempting to carjack a vehicle. The description of the vehicle used in this incident matched the one from the earlier shooting.
Law enforcement, including deputies from the Manistee County Sheriff's Office and troopers from the Michigan State Police, converged on the area where the suspect was believed to be. They located the suspect's vehicle at a residence on Spruce Street in Wellston. As troopers approached, they learned the suspect had fled on foot into a nearby swamp. A perimeter was established, and shortly after, the suspect, a 27-year-old male, emerged onto Spruce Street.
As law enforcement confronted him, Shawnoski pointed a firearm in the direction of a trooper before turning the weapon on himself. Officers took him into custody and attempted to perform life-saving measures until emergency medical services arrived. Shawnoski was transported to a local hospital but was pronounced dead en route. The investigation concluded that there was no further threat to the public, with the incident being treated as a murder-suicide.
