FRIDAY NEWS HIT - The first bit of public evidence about when federal law enforcement officers would be coming to Detroit was about halfway down a daily briefing from the White House. Outlining President Donald Trump's response to reported violence in America's urban centers, the executive branch planned to deploy law enforcement from the Department of Justice "over the next 3 weeks", expanding "the initiative into Cleveland, Detroit, and Milwaukee."
The first reported case of federal agents appearing in a city came from Portland, where mass protests against police brutality have morphed into a rebuke of the federal government entering the city. However, that's not what's happening in Detroit, says Police Chief James Craig.
"It's no secret many of the large cities have experienced an uptick in violence," Craig said. "We are talking about enhancement to what was already on the ground."
Detroit is no exception to the trend that Craig is referencing. The police chief said there's been a 7% increase in violent crimes this year. Attributing the climb likely to the pandemic and residents stressed out about recent protests, crimes like homicides and shootings are occurring more frequently.
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Federal agents could come to Detroit in 3 weeks; activists want more community support
Meanwhile community advocate Maurice Hardwick says in addition to help from the feds he also wants to see more resources for families.
Just over the weekend, there were 33 shooting incidents where seven people were killed. That includes a quadruple shooting in a Detroit coney island where three people died and a fourth was left in critical condition.
The White House's involvement in Detroit and other cities like Chicago and New York is part of Operation LeGend. As part of the expansion, Attorney General Barr directed the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, DEA, and ATF to significantly increase resources into Chicago and Albuquerque in the coming weeks to help state and local officials fight high levels of violent crime, particularly gun violence.
"This is not about protests this is not about federal troops coming here, all that's nonsense," said US Attorney Matthew Schneider. "This is about federal law enforcement coming here because we have a very dangerous situation."
When Trump made the original assertion of sending federal agents to cities to quell violence on Monday, it drew a strong rebuke from Detroit's mayor, police chief, as well as the Michigan governor and attorney general.
Several community leaders and activists in the city have become increasingly vocal about what Detroit will need to reduce violent crime in the long term. While many protesters have taken up the mantle of "Defund the Police", others have said focusing on just law enforcement is too narrow.
New Era Detroit, led by Zeek, says residents need to focus on all issues, not just the parts that people are currently protesting.
"Not just a part of the issue that's going on in our community, but all issues that plague our community as a whole. We need to stay focused on those things and we don't need to jump off the ledge when we hear about something especially that's not even facts," said Zeek.
As the hurricane of national news localizing itself in southeast Michigan continued to spin, a new development from one of the weekend's deadliest incidents took place.
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Quadruple shooting suspect crashes into tree before fleeing
Prior to a Detroit police officer fatally wounding the suspect involved in a quadruple shooting over the weekend, the man was fleeing from police after he crashed into a tree.
While chasing a fleeing suspect thought to be connected to a different quadruple shooting that also happened over the weekend, a Detroit police officer fatally wounded him on the city's east side.
While leading officers on a high-speed chase Thursday, a vehicle crashed into a tree. The suspect made a run for it and while he was being chased pulled out a gun. Fearing for his life, the officer in pursuit shot the man.
"One suspect got out, and as he was being approached, he had a gun in his hand and the officer, fearing for his safety fired one time, striking the suspect," said Craig.
The incident the man is believed to be connected to was when four teenagers were injured by gunfire over the weekend. While celebrating a birthday Saturday evening, an unknown suspect pulled up in a neon green Dodge and fired shots. At least two of the victims remain in grave condition.
As is standard procedure, the officer who was involved is now on restricted duty pending the outcome of the investigation.
Two Detroit students test positive for COVID-19
Only days after being ordered to test students for the coronavirus, Detroit Public Schools' mandatory screening reported two of their own had COVID-19.
It's the first case of summer school kids testing positive for the virus. The city teamed up with DPSCD to test more than 600 students in the summer school program who receive face-to-face instruction. So far, about 274 students have been administered rapid COVID-19 testing.
"The health department immediately went into action and we began our contact tracing protocol," Detroit Chief Public Health Director Denise Fair said. "We are contacting the families, we are making sure they are quarantined and we did our due diligence.
"We started testing today and we are going to continue testing for the next couple of days. We are going to test students via nasal swab. We are partnering with Henry Ford Health System and we are going to test everyone who needs to be tested, including the staff if they have an interest in testing," she added.
While those students will self-quarantine and resume their learning online, activists who protested the in-person reopening of the district say the case confirms their worst fears.
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2 Detroit summer school students test positive for COVID-19
The city's health department said it took immediate action after learning of the two students tested positive.
"I think it confirms our fears of summer school being open and how much work we need to do to get a handle on COVID-19," activist Tristan Taylor said in a text message. "It’s criminal that young black bodies were unnecessarily in harm's way."
DPSCD were allowed to continue in-person schooling after a judge reviewed a lawsuit filed by teachers, parents, and other community members. However, they were only allowed to do so if they tested students for COVID-19.
Detroit Tigers kick off season against Cincinnati Reds
Get ready for the strangest season of baseball ever played.
It'll be the shortest season of baseball since 1878, and there won't be any fans at the game to celebrate either. Instead, networks will implement virtual fans to simulate booing, cheering, and even the wave. Teams will also play regionalized schedules to avoid traveling.
On Friday, Detroit Tigers' fans will get to experience all of this from the comfort of their own home as their hometown team kicks off the first game of a 60-game season.
FOX 2 will air the game Live with pre-game coverage from FOX 2 Sports starting at 5:30 p.m. If you're streaming it, due to MLB restrictions, you can only watch the game live with the MLB At Bat app and you must not live within the Detroit market to watch the game.
Detroit will kickstart their own home opener next Monday, July 27 against the Kansas City Royals.
Daily Forecast
Showers and storms will stay away for the next few days as fantastic Friday weather sweeps through.
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Fantastic Friday weather, followed by a hot and sticky weekend.
Showers and storms stay away for the next few days.
Poll: 3 in 4 Americans back requiring wearing masks
Three out of four Americans, including a majority of Republicans, favor requiring people to wear face coverings while outside their homes, a new poll finds, reflecting fresh alarm over spiking coronavirus cases and a growing embrace of government advice intended to safeguard public health.
The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research also finds that about two-thirds of Americans disapprove of how President Donald Trump is handling the outbreak, an unwelcome sign for the White House in an election year shaped by the nation’s battle with the pandemic.
More than four months after government stay-at-home orders first swept across the U.S., the poll spotlights an America increasingly on edge about the virus. The federal government's response is seen as falling short, and most Americans favor continued restrictions to stop the virus from spreading even if they might hamstring the economy.