DETROIT (FOX 2) - Detroit police chief James Craig held a press conference Monday to address the third officer-involved shooting in the city this month. Two resulted in death and the most recent shooting victim is in the hospital.
During the press conference, Craig attributed anti-police rhetoric, low-bail and early-release policies for some offenders due to the COVID-19 pandemic as a reason Detroit has seen an uptick in violence as of late, as other several major cities across the country have too.
JULY 26 SHOOTING
The most recent police-involved shooting happened Sunday night, July 26, around 11:30 at Wyoming and Washburn, which is near Plymouth. Craig said the suspect was shot multiple times and is recovering in the hospital right now.
Craig said officers were in the area working on a detail related to stunt driving when they saw a man walking by a gas station with a gun sticking out of the waistband of his pants. The officers pulled over, got out of the car and began to approach the man and Craig said he began to run.
Officers ran after the man and, Craig said, after they turned a corner one officer fired between 5-6 rounds, hitting the suspect several times. A gun was recovered lying on the ground near where the suspect went down.
Craig said body cam footage from the officers shows the shooting but the video has not yet been released from the department.
Craig also said that, during a review of the gas station's Project Green Light surveillance video, that the man was seen taking part in a hand-to-hand drug sale.
RELATED: Craig attributes uptick of violence in Detroit to anti-police rhetoric, COVID-19 release policies
JULY 23 FATAL SHOOTING
Chief Craig also addressed this shooting during the press conference and released both dash cam and body cam footage. You can see the footage here.
Last week on Thursday, July 23, a man was shot and killed by Detroit police in the area of Whittier and McKinney near I-94. Police say he was a suspect in a quadruple shooting that injured four teenagers at a block party the previous weekend. Craig also announced at the press conference that one of the teen victims died over the weekend.
Chief Craig has said that the officer fired one shot at the suspect because he believed his life was in danger because the suspect had a gun. Craig also said no shots were fired at the officer.
Craig said the suspect was trying to run from police with the gun in his hand when the shooting happened.
Police first saw the suspects in a car and engaged in a high-speed chase throughout main and residential streets in Detroit. The dash cam video shows the driver barely hitting other vehicles and even narrowly missing pedestrians on a sidewalk.
We're told the chase lasted about 10 minutes and ended when the person driving the car crashed into a tree. Three people then got out of the car and ran.
"One of the suspects, as he was being approached, he had a gun in his hand," Craig said. "And the officer fearing for his safety fired one time, striking the suspect. That suspect was transported to a local hospital where he died from his wounds."
Craig pointed out the gun seen in the suspect's hand in both the dash cam and body cam footage shown at the press conference Monday.
The two others inside the car were arrested.
JULY 10 FATAL SHOOTING
The first police-involved shooting this month happened Friday, July 10 at McNichols and San Juan.
Detroit police had said the man pulled out a gun and started shooting at officers as they were arresting an acquaintance.
In the hours after the shooting, a large crowd gathered at the scene. Then later that evening Chief Craig held a press conference and released body cam and dash cam video that showed the man pulling out a gun and firing twice at close range on an officer. He has been identified as Hakim Littleton.
Littleton is said to have been shot four times and was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Craig said police were in the area to make an arrest related to a rash of violence over the Fourth of July weekend.