DETROIT (WWJ) — With summer getting underway in Detroit, police are again calling on the community to leave their guns at home after what was a violent first weekend of June.
Police Chief James White on Monday detailed a pair of weekend shootings that left a total of nine people injured, including a shootout at a house party with more than 90 shots fired and an officer-involved shooting. More than 100 people were believed to be in attendance at the party.
Around 1:15 a.m. Saturday gunfire erupted at a party on Trinity Street, near Grand River Boulevard and McNichols Road on the city’s west side. In total, 93 spent shell casings were recovered, along with seven handguns and one “AR-style” rifle.
One gun was reported stolen and another was equipped with a Glock switch, a device that allows a Glock handgun to fire fully automatically.
White said officers were wrapping up a traffic stop a few blocks away when they heard gunfire and radio traffic that there was an active shooter.
A female officer responding to the scene encountered an armed suspect and opened fire. While White said the "extremely complex" investigation is in its early stages, authorities believe she hit a man in his 30s in the leg once. He is expected to recover.
The officer was not injured in the shooting.
In total, four people were shot at the party on Trinity. Two were said to be in critical condition and two were in temporary serious condition as of late Monday afternoon.
Authorities believe someone opened fire on the party from inside a vehicle, but no description has been given as the investigation continues.
A house connected to the party was firebombed the following day. The police and fire departments are investigating that incident.
In a separate incident early Saturday morning police responded to West Warren and West Grand Boulevard, where five people were shot shortly before 2 a.m. Early investigations revealed what is believed to be a white SUV pulled up alongside another car and two suspects opened fire, hitting five people inside.
Responding officers found about 20 shell casings from two different guns — one handgun and one rifle. All five victims were initially listed in critical condition, but are all expected to recover, according to White.
Authorities are still working through the details of both incidents and have not released the ages of any of the victims. No descriptions of any suspects have been released.
White acknowledged the summer months in Detroit typically see an increase in gun violence, but the department and community groups are calling on Detroiters to be more responsible this summer so it doesn’t have to be that way.
“We continue to see the numbers statistically moving in the right direction with regards to a reduction over the same time last year, but those are mere numbers when you’re talking about five people being shot, four people being shot at events throughout our city,” White said.
“You can’t celebrate numbers when you’ve got real people that are impacted by this violence,” he said.
White discussed the possibility of bringing a new ordinance regarding block parties before the city council, but said he believes the better option, for now, is to “enforce what’s already on the books,” including noise and parking ordinances, and disorderly conduct.
“There’s enough things that’s on the books right now that we can encourage people to do things the right way,” White said.
“We don’t want to take anybody’s summer away, we don’t want to stop anybody from enjoying a party and a barbecue,” White said. “We want to keep people alive and safe. And I think that we can get there if people just practice responsibility and leave the guns at home,” White said.
The chief said when people are called upon to change their behavior, they should respond, noting police were called to the scene of the house party five times prior to the shootout.
“We went each time and we were very patient in talking to the homeowner and giving them an opportunity and then ultimately by the end of the night, it resulted in what you see in front of us,” White said, noting the hosts of the party initially complied with requests to keep the music down.
White and other police officials called on groups like Detroit 300 and Ceasefire Detroit to continue to work with community members to decrease violent behavior.