On the afternoon of April 26, 1991, Bay City Police Officers Terry James Jablonski and Raymond P. Rexer responded to a domestic disturbance on the city’s east side. The dispute involved brothers John and Jeffrey Knapp and a neighboring family over John’s relationship with a 14-year-old girl. Both officers were familiar with the Knapp brothers’ prior minor criminal history.

Jeffrey Knapp came out of his house with a long gun concealed in a blanket, drawing the officers’ attention while John Knapp ambushed the two men with a .22-caliber rifle. Both officers were fatally wounded; Officer Jablonski, 44, a 23-year veteran and father of two sons, managed to return fire before he died. Jeffrey Knapp was apprehended at the scene; John Knapp initially fled but later surrendered.

At trial a jury convicted John Knapp of first-degree murder and sentenced him to life in prison. Jeffrey Knapp was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder and given concurrent terms of 56 to 126 years. Does anyone have memories of the neighborhood or the officers from that day that could add context to what happened?