2 dead, including innocent bystander, after argument leads to shooting at Detroit liquor store

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Two men are dead after an argument escalated to a shooting Tuesday at a liquor store in Detroit.

Police said the two men were arguing at Party Plus Liquor at Wyoming and Orangelawn around 11 a.m. During the argument, the suspect went to his car, grabbed a metal pipe, and started hitting the other man.

The man being hit with the pipe went to get a pry bar from a workbag to defend himself, but the suspect with the pipe shot at him.

"That victim went to a workbag and retrieved a metal pry bar. He attempted to defend himself and our suspect fire two shots from his weapon. The suspect is a CPL holder," said Assistant Police Chief Charles Fitzgerald. 

The man who grabbed the metal bar was killed, while another shot struck an innocent bystander named Raymondo Bankhead.

"A stray bullet hit him, and he didn't make it," Sharetta Wellons said. "This was not my thought when waking up that I would have to come to the store and be told that my brother has been accidentally shot."

Wellons said Bankhead is her brother and was their mother’s caregiver.

"He was compassionate, affectionate, strong-willed, very kind," she said.

The suspect is now in custody.

Firearm instructor and attorney Terry Johnson said the shooter can't make a legitimate self-defense claim.

"First of all, the gentleman left the scene, and what people don’t understand is when you leave the scene the fight is over. He grabbed something and decided to go back," he said.

Johnson noted that the case is not typical of most CPL holders.

"Again, 700,000 people or more have a concealed pistol license in the state of Michigan. And you will expect no matter what it is, whether it’s a politician or a police officer, you’re always going to have one bad apple that slips through the cracks. Over and over and by far CPL holders are more law-abiding than even law enforcement," he said.