(WWJ) As the weather heated up for the first time under the coronavirus quarantine this weekend, Detroit police had their hands full with a homicide and several shootings. Officers are investigating several shootings over the last few days.
The first happened around 8 p.m. Saturday on East Canfield where a 25-year-old man was shot while sitting in his vehicle. He is in critical condition after shots peppered his windshield.
A 30-year-old man was also shot at a Detroit bus stop when he got into an argument with two other men. One of the men opened fire, then fled.
Then, a 19-year-old woman and 25-year-old man were shot on Ferguson Street when an argument erupted about who had the car keys. During the argument, shots were fired, injuring the 19-year old female victim. The man was killed.
Later, a 30-year-old man was shot by two unknown suspects in the alley in the 13000 block of W. 7 Mile Road. The victim is licensed to carry concealed, so he told police he returned fire as he ran away.
Anyone who has information on any of these crimes should call Detroit police or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK UP.
The rash of shootings is the first to come after Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced March 30 that crime had dropped 40% under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's Stay Home, Stay Safe order.
"The shelter in place is having the same effect it did in New York, response time is still good," Duggan said a month ago.
As the weather warmed following winter and a long, cold spring dotted with snow showers, there were rumblings about people gathering again because they can't take the isolation of quarantine any longer. Michiganders has been been under some form of advice to stay home since the week of March 16.
Still, during a press conference on Friday, Duggan reminded the public it isn't time to resume public life yet.
"All the good news will be undone in a hurry if people go out in the parks, in the neighborhoods and gather in large groups," he said.
The curve is flattening dramatically in Detroit, which went from being one of the worst hotspots in the country to having over 800 hospital beds vacant in the city. On Friday, Duggan reported there had been nine more deaths in the city in the past 24 hours., which was the "smallest number we've seen in a long time," Duggan said.
