Detroit's homicide rate, Home Depot hot dogs, campaign filings for Michigan governor race

TUESDAY NEWS HIT - The fatal shooting of a man in southwest Detroit Monday is the latest in a series of homicides that have plagued the city and stirring fear among residents about personal safety.

Evidence markers dotted the street where a man was gunned down Monday afternoon. 

The shooting happened behind a home at Bassett and Francis. "So the guy got shot, made it to the backyard of a lady’s house and died in open daylight," said Willie Starr.

Police have yet to identify the body and are still searching for a suspect.

"This is nonsense man, this is nonsense," said Orlando Corbin. "It don’t make sense. It’s frustrating it’s scary. You just don’t know who or where, or what is going on. There’s no value for anybody’s life."

Corbin, like many residents, is angry about the violence draped over the city. Last year, the police department's former chief wagered the pandemic had given people cabin fever and many had emerged from their homes during the health crisis and were restless.

"We want to see this stuff stop - I mean stop," said Corbin. "This is the second one in this area here. They had a vigil last year and my niece got killed down there. It’s like all of a sudden it just took a turn for the worst."

As it turns out, 2021 is on pace to be more deadly than 2020 in Detroit. So far, 16 more people have died at this point this year than last year - raising the total to 186 homicides.

The Monday shooting follows violence near a candlelight vigil in Asbury Park where seven people were injured by gunfire and one was listed in critical condition. That was Sunday night. 

But minutes before that, there was another shooting at the La Sierra Bar on the 5400 block of Chopin near McGraw and Livernois

Crime was already high when Chief James White took over the police department. One of the first high-profile cases that fell on his desk when he entered the job in June was that of a 2-year-old killed in a case of mistaken identity on the freeway. 

He's since announced a partnership between Michigan State Police and Detroit police to reduce violence in the streets, while also cracking down on drag racing and fighting in public. 

Home Depot done selling hot dogs

The aroma of hot dogs rotating on the man-sized carts outside the home improvement store has made their last pass it appears, as Home Depot has confirmed it is no longer planning to offer the food outside its locations. 

The company said it wanted to focus on the customer and their home improvement needs in a statement. But one can bet the customer's needs include lunch after shopping for supplies. "This is one of the few Home Depots that grill hot dogs not boil and they are really good," said one customer. "I'm sad about it but she is glad because I eat too many of them," quipped shopper Joe Brown, nodding to his wife.

"It was a shocker we were pretty stumped by it when we heard it," said William Pachota. For Pachota, who owns Hot Diggitty Dog in Livonia, it was shock and sadness. The restaurant used to sell their hot dogs at Home Deport vendors. He was just getting ready to fire up the stands in Northville, Plymouth, and Commerce Township locations when he got the fateful letter - no more hot dogs at Home Depot. 

"When you are working there and you see people coming in with smiles on their face, and everybody so happy to come there and just give you respect you appreciate when you are there," he said. "Maybe we'll keep our fingers crossed, we're always open."

Bodies of 2 men found decomposed inside Detroit home

The bodies of two men were found badly decomposed inside a Detroit home on Berden Street near St. John's Hospital on Moross. While police have confirmed they don't suspect foul play at this time, they aren't entirely sure how both died. A dog was also found, which was still alive. 

One of the neighbors, Stacie Mohammed, said she had a friendly relationship with the man that lived next door. The last time she saw the man was during one of the flood events in early July. Then, when the home's lawn became unkempt - an unusual sight in the neighborhood, 

Then, when a business associate came over and knocked on Mohammed's door, he said "I got two dead bodies over here can you hold onto the dog until I figure out what is going on?" She said the dog, Snowball, was in rough shape.

"She was very thirsty, she was panting a lot, she was really shaky, maybe she hadn't eaten, I don’t know," she said. "I gave her lots of water and now she is chilling with my other two dogs." The man who made the initial discovery also shared something else - the two bodies were in the house were apparently there for some time.

The campaign for Michigan governor

Who is winning the race for governor? It'll be a while before Michigan has a feel for who will be most likely to take on Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Some strategists say that Detroit's former police chief is an early front runner. He said he was running for governor last week before his campaign retracted and said he had created an exploratory committee. 

That means he won't be filing any campaign fundraising reports until October. But a number of other candidates have already filed their first fundraising numbers. Kalamazoo chiropractor Garrett Soldano raised the most: $625,000. Behind him is Oakland County pastor Ralph Rebandt II, who brought in $170,000.

Tudor Dizon, a conservative news co-host, raised $132,000 and Ryan Kelley, who works as a real estate broker in Ottawa County, raised $35,000. Bob Scott raised $1,177 and Austin Chenge did not report any fundraising filings.

There might be more to come. Rumors that Kevin Rinke, a businessman who runs car dealerships in Detroit has said he would consider investing $10 million of his own money to run for governor. Awaiting whoever scores the Republican nomination is a $10 million war chest raised by Whitmer. 

Tornado's direct hit takes off top of Armada family's home

"He comes upstairs and he goes. "You don't have a roof," said Jackie Pascoe. "I'm thinking shingles." For retired Air Force veteran Larry and two-time cancer survivor Jackie Pasco, a house with the top taken off on Saturday wasn't in the plan.

"That's what's left of the John Deere and the trailer for it," she said, pointing 50 yards away. Shingles came off the top of the pole barn and his pickup truck took plenty of damage, too. The couple built their forever home in 2016 after moving around the country for the military.

"This might be where our forever home will be, now we'll just have a different forever home but still here," Larry said.

The part of the house that took the most damage was the Pascoes' bedroom. They were not in there at the time the tornado hit. They were in the basement, but inside the bedroom was one dog. The Pascoes have four dogs. Ziva,  Mattila, Jethro, and Gertrude, along with dozens of chickens, rabbits, and even two turkeys. None of them were hurt.

What else we're watching

1. Whitmer will be announcing an investment in affordable housing in Detroit Tuesday at 2 p.m. It'll take advantage of the relief funds offered through the American Rescue Plan.
2. Simone Biles will no longer compete on the U.S. gymnastics team at the Tokyo Olympics after suffering an injury during the vault. She was considered one of the world's best gymnasts.
3. Is the housing market finally starting to slow down? Some analysts at Remax are seeing a peaking of the home buying boom that's made getting a new house a struggle in recent months.
4. The state of California, New York City, and the Department of Veteran's Affairs all announced its public employees would be required to get a vaccine or face mandatory weekly testing for COVID-19. Don't be surprised if similar orders come down in Michigan in the coming weeks.
5. Van Buren police say they are working a homicide case involving a mother and her 14-year-old daughter that was discovered sometime Sunday evening. There are no suspects in custody.

Live on FOX 2

Daily Forecast

More heat and a bit of wet weather are on the way for Metro Detroit Tuesday as a slow cooldown begins. Cities further north will see a higher chance of more rain than southern regions. 

Dixie fire: Satellite video shows blaze burning from outer space

Video captured by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellites GOESEast and GOES-18 shows the extent of wildfire activity and smoke over the western United States from July 22 and 25.

In footage released on NOAA’s Twitter account, GOESEast shows California’s largest fire, named the Dixie fire, burning on July 22 from outer space. As of Monday, July 26, the Dixie fire spread to 197,487 acres and was 22% contained, according to InciWeb.

California fire officials say firefighters could possibly face a "significant increase" in fire behavior this week as smoke clears away from the fire. This week, dark plumes of smoke covered the Dixie fire — assisting firefighters by decreasing temperatures and containing fire behavior despite the blaze continuing to grow.