8 People Fatally Shot In Detroit Over Memorial Day Weekend, 4 More Gunned Down Tuesday

Eight people were shot and killed in Detroit, Michigan, over Memorial Day weekend, authorities stated. All shooting victims range between 18 and 38 years of age. Two of the murders were drive-by in nature and six separate shootings occurred on Detroit’s west side over the extended weekend. The holiday began with a violent start. The city had four victims of gun violence at three separate parties. Authorities were only able to detain one suspect out of all eight crime scenes. Investigations are underway.

Early Saturday morning, in the midnight hour, the violence began. A white Dodge Magnum, with front-end damage, pulled up to a block party and opened fire. The shots scattered everyone at the party. A 38-year old female was shot and killed.

A 19-year-old black male arrived at an area hospital nearly four hours later with gunshot wounds. He claimed that he had been shot in a different location; however, he had been seen at the earlier scene. Police now believe that the two shootings are, in some way, connected.

In a separate shooting, as reported by the Detroit News, a black male in his mid-20s was intentionally struck in the head during a drive-by shooting.

Dontae Freeman, a spokesman for the Detroit Police Department (DPD), stated that the aforementioned victim was sitting in his car when another vehicle, black in color, pulled up next to his. Someone fired multiple shots and drove away. According to authorities, the black vehicle drove south on Ethel toward Schaefer Rd.

The third victim was enjoying himself at a block party just after midnight on Sunday when shots were fired. The bullets struck the man numerous times. After being shot, the man was taken to the hospital by other partygoers, however, he died.

Five more people were fatally shot and killed in separate cases throughout the course of the day on Monday.

At around midnight on Monday morning, DPD officers found a 20-year-old black man lying in the middle of the street. He had suffered multiple gunshot wounds at the scene. When the shooting occurred, police were given no leads and there were no known circumstances behind the shooting.

At 8 a.m. on Monday, police received a call reporting that there were shots fired on the 15700 block of Mansfield. When officers arrived, they found an 18-year-old black male dead at the scene. In this case, it was reported by the Detroit News that a man was taken in for questioning; however, he was reportedly not forthcoming with information regarding the circumstances of the victim’s death.

At approximately 9:30 a.m., medics arrived at the scene of another shooting. The victim was a 30-year-old man who had been found shot in the chest. The man died at the scene. Unfortunately, there is no witness description of a suspect, and circumstances of the crime are still unknown.

Late Monday afternoon, another 30-year-old man was fatally wounded. A black male was driving with another man in the area of Schoolcraft and Greenfield. An unidentified vehicle pulled up beside the victim’s car and fired numerous shots that hit the man several times.

The victim attempted to leave the scene of the shooting but eventually had to stop. He was found dead in his car before help could arrive. The one witness to the shooting has “refused to cooperate.”

The final fatality of the extended holiday weekend occurred just before midnight. A 32-year-old man was sitting on his sofa when he was shot several times. DPD officers have determined that the suspect, armed with an assault rifle, fired multiple shots through the front door to the house. The bullets found their target and the victim was declared dead upon arrival to the scene.

The extreme gun violence that ravaged the city of Detroit during Memorial Day weekend wasn’t complete on Monday. Early Tuesday, a quadruple shooting was reported in Greektown. A group of individuals was talking in an alleyway when the discussion became an argument.

In a video posted on the department’s Facebook page, Assistant Chief Williams talks about the shooting in downtown Detroit.

https://www.facebook.com/detroitpolice/videos/1788193734553157/

Four individuals in the group were injured with gunshot wounds. Of the four shot, three are hospitalized in critical condition. Upon arrival to the scene, the officers were able to determine that one of the injured parties is also a suspect in the Greektown shooting. There were two weapons recovered at the scene of the crime.

Assistant Chief Williams indicated that the DPD has stepped up law enforcement, and they will continue to do so until circumstances like these no longer pose a threat to the safety of Detroit citizens.

“If you come downtown and you have ill intentions, there will be consequences.”

This Memorial Day holiday is now the second violent weekend the city of Detroit has suffered. The Detroit News reported that just weeks before, extreme gun violence ravaged the city on Easter weekend and 15 people were shot of which six were killed.