A Port Huron father has now told a St. Clair County judge what police and prosecutors have alleged for months: he opened fire on three of his own children last September, killing his 17-year-old son and gravely injuring two younger siblings. The guilty plea, entered yesterday in St. Clair County, comes nearly nine months after the Sept. 11 attack and leaves the surviving children and the rest of the family bracing for a June 29 sentencing. The case has drawn steady local coverage and community fundraising as neighbors and relatives try to keep the family afloat.
Plea and charges
At a hearing on Tuesday, Jeffery Smerer pleaded guilty to one count of open murder, two counts of attempted murder, two counts of first-degree child abuse, and five counts of felony firearm, according to ClickOnDetroit. The outlet reports that Smerer remains in custody while he awaits his June 29 sentencing.
The Sept. 11 attack
The early-morning shootings on Sept. 11, 2025, left a 17-year-old boy dead and a 13-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl critically injured, CBS Detroit reported. Local television coverage and police accounts place the incident at an apartment in the 2800 block of Glenview Court near Kraft Road and 24th Avenue, and say the children's mother and an adult son wrestled the father to the ground to stop further violence, according to FOX 2 Detroit.
Prosecutors' account
Prosecutors told the court that Smerer had been planning the attack for about a week and that he was "stressed" over an unrelated indecent-exposure sentence scheduled the same morning, according to court records and reporting reviewed by Law&Crime. Local court reporting cited in that coverage also notes that Smerer answered "Yes" when he was asked in court whether it had been his intention to shoot the children and then himself.
Neighbors and fundraising
Neighbors rallied around the family in the days after the shooting, and a GoFundMe was launched to help cover medical and funeral expenses, ClickOnDetroit reported in earlier coverage. Local outlets have reported that the surviving children face long recoveries, and the community has continued to raise money and offer support as the case moves toward sentencing.
Legal implications and next steps
Smerer's guilty pleas expose him to severe penalties. The counts could add up to multiple life terms, with additional firearm penalties to be stacked at sentencing, according to prosecutors and court records reviewed by Law&Crime. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 29 in St. Clair County, when a judge will decide how the terms will be imposed.
