An armed man walked into Ann Arbor Stamps & Coins last Thursday afternoon, pulled a gun, and ran off empty-handed after the store's own employee fired back with a warning shot. Ann Arbor police are now searching for two people believed to be connected to the attempted robbery, which unfolded at approximately 1:50 p.m. on August 27 in the 3000 block of Washtenaw Avenue.
According to an Ann Arbor Police Department update shared on Facebook by Breaking News 989, an adult male entered the store and produced a firearm before fleeing on foot. Police say a second adult male was already inside the shop and is now considered a person of interest, with investigators working to determine whether the two allegedly worked together in the attempt, as FOX 2 Detroit reports.
Investigators confirmed that the store clerk produced his own firearm and fired one shot during the encounter, an action FOX 2 Detroit describes as a warning shot that scared off the alleged robbers. No injuries were reported, nothing was struck by gunfire, and no property was taken from the shop. The clerk fought back rather than hand anything over, and both suspects ran from the scene.
A Longtime Washtenaw Avenue Fixture
Ann Arbor Stamps & Coins, located at 3372 Washtenaw Ave, has been operating in the city since at least the mid-1980s, specializing in rare coins, bullion, stamps, and precious metals appraisals, according to a listing on CDXList.com. The shop's inventory of valuable, easily concealed items has long made specialty coin and bullion dealers a target for this type of crime nationally, and the business's decades-long presence on the busy commercial corridor put it squarely in the middle of last Thursday's confrontation.
What Michigan Law Says About Firing Back
Under Michigan's Self-Defense Act of 2006, individuals not engaged in unlawful activity may use deadly force with no duty to retreat in places they have a legal right to be, if they reasonably believe it is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm, per the state legislature's statute, cited as MCL 780.972. That standard generally protects a store employee who confronts an armed intruder.
Warning shots occupy murkier legal territory, however. Michigan statutory law does not explicitly define or grant immunity for warning shots, and legal experts at Barone Defense Firm have noted that such shots can present complications, including potential misdemeanor charges for reckless discharge of a firearm under MCL 750.234e if bystanders are endangered. It remains unclear whether any legal review of the clerk's specific actions is underway.
Part of a Pattern of Daytime Commercial Holdups
The Washtenaw Avenue incident adds to a string of armed robbery attempts at Ann Arbor businesses over the past year. In December 2025, police investigated a man who brandished a firearm inside a Chase Bank branch on West Stadium Boulevard before fleeing empty-handed, a case that led to an arrest in March, as reported by CBS News Detroit. Hoodline previously covered that case in a suspect facing life after the bank standoff.
In February, Ann Arbor police arrested a suspect following a robbery at a PNC Bank branch on South Main Street, where a teller was threatened with a gun and an explosive device. Washtenaw County courts have also handled other multi-suspect armed cases recently, including a May 2025 prosecution of four people charged in connection with an armed home invasion in Augusta Township.
Investigation Continues
Both suspects remain unidentified, and it is not yet known whether surveillance footage or other leads generated by the department's tip line have advanced the case. The Ann Arbor Police Department is asking anyone with information to contact detectives at 734-794-6920, submit tips by email to [email protected], or file an anonymous report through the city's Silent Witness portal.
