Mount Pleasant, Michigan shooting (Mistaken Identity)

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (WOOD) - A case of mistaken identity may have led to a murder-suicide in a popular Central Michigan University hangout late Tuesday night, a shooting that was planned, police say.

Justin Joel Luckhardt, 32, went to a restaurant/bar called The Cabin two times earlier Tuesday, even taking a cell phone picture one time.

But police said on his third visit, around 10:45 p.m, he walked up to where Kim Lerene Luchie was sitting and shot him multiple times.

Luckhardt left the restaurant at 930 W. Bloomfield and headed south on Crawford Road. Officers were already in the area because they say Luckhardt had crashed into a stop sign before the shooting.

Police chased him and found his car near the Millbrook Road intersection after he had crashed.

When police approached, they found him laying next to his vehicle with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A Glock semi-automatic .357 handgun, an SKS-style assault weapon, ammunition and a bulletproof vest were found in Luckhardt's vehicle. Police believe the handgun is the murder weapon.

Both Luchie, 25, and Luckhardt were pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

Witnesses described the scene as terrifying and chaotic.

Lisa Kidder and Jerrica Lawwill are both from Grand Rapids and both seniors at CMU. They were just feet from the shooting inside the bar.

"I saw, like, sparks coming from this guy's chest from the gunshots, and that's when I realized we need to get out of here and we all just ran for the back door," Kidder said. "When he turned around to walk out he turned his body in our direction and I thought for sure he was going to start shooting people."

"There's really no words to describe it," Lawwill told 24 Hour News 8. "I just keep hearing the gunshots in my head and I keep picturing what I saw." She added, "I looked over and the guy was slumped over in his booth with his arms crossed and everyone was crouched over and running for the door."

Police believe Luckhardt was having marital problems. Luchie was sitting with Luckhardt's sister-in-law at The Cabin. The motive is unclear, but investigators suspect Luckhardt mistook Luchie for someone else.

Neither man has a criminal record.

"The sequence of events, while pre-meditated, were not planned well in advance," said Mount Pleasant Police Chief Anthony B. Gomez-Mesquita. It's only the fourth homicide in 15 years in Mount Pleasant.

Luchie, whose nickname was Kemp, attended Forest Hills Northern High School and played on the football team.

"Kemp was an awesome kid, a great athlete who worked hard in the classroom," Vice Principal Steve Harvey told 24 Hour News 8, using Luchie's nickname. "It didn't always come easy for him, but he worked hard at it."

Harvey added, "He was just the kind of kid people were drawn to. He always had a big smile on his face, I remember that. He was a special kid, no doubt about it."

Luchie played football briefly for CMU, according to co-workers at JC Penney. Luchie worked for there for five years.

"It's shocking," co-worker Aaron Gonzalez said. "We're all grieving right now, but he would be the first one to say keep your head up."

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• Justin Joel Luckhardt
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