Violent weekend in Downtown Detroit leaves two dead, several injured amid multiple shootings
DETROIT (FOX 2) - A store employee killed in Greektown, a curfew ordered for minors, and half a dozen shootings all made up what turned into a violent weekend in Detroit.
Almost in lockstep with the return of warm weather came a busy few days for Detroit police.
Before the revelry had even started in Detroit's nightlife, police found themselves investigating a shootout between neighbors last Thursday when the wrong delivery for a pizza order ended in five gunshot victims.
Over the weekend, there were six more shootings that left at least two people dead.
"Our community deserves better, our city deserves better," said Police Chief James White.
"There's a whole lot of kids right now but yeah we saw a whole lot of kids, thousands last night up and down the Riverwalk and Greektown," he added. "We have to remember our responsibility,"
On Friday night, four people were shot and one person died. The suspect in that shooting was eventually struck by police after pointing a gun at them. He was arrested and taken to the hospital a short time later.
Four other shootings happened Saturday night, including the murder of an employee who was shot and killed inside his store.
White said the incident was tied to a dispute about someone cutting in line. The suspect was arrested immediately.
"You've got cameras all around here, we've got the eagle eye in the sky on this area - so we're literally seeing all the movement down here," he said.
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The violence prompted police to order a curfew for downtown Detroit, requiring minors 15 years and younger to be accompanied by an adult or be off the streets by 10 p.m. Saturday. Minors ages 16 and 17 had until 11 p.m.
"Soon as it gets hot, everybody's bringing out their animosity, and they're just going wild and going crazy," said a woman named Kay, who saw one of the shootings.
Late Sunday, there were reports of two more shootings. That includes a fatal shooting on Beaconsfield around 10 p.m. when a verbal dispute escalated into gunfire. The 56-year-old victim was shot by a suspect in the 11700 block.
There is no information on that suspect at this time.
‘We ask you not to bring a weapon’
Before the weekend had even begun, Detroit police had asked people to avoid bringing firearms to the city's downtown area.
Anticipating a busy nightlife as temperatures rose to their warmest of the year, DPD Commander Melissa Gardner said there would be 100 officers strategically placed to help maintain peace. "Most of the venues downtown, we don't allow weapons. We ask you not bring a weapon. We do not find a weapon secured in a vehicle as truly secure," she said.
Those requests went unheeded as police said they'd be enforcing a curfew downtown after a quadruple shooting Friday night.
While in the area of Randolph and Monroe in Greektown, Detroit police heard gunshots from a nearby parking structure before observing people fleeing the area.
Three people had been shot, police learned, before they spotted the suspect who was armed with a handgun and pursued him. After the suspect pointed the gun at them and tried fleeing in a car driven by another sedan, police fired a single shot and struck him.
Later, the wounded suspect was located at a local hospital and taken into custody.
Employee dead after dispute
The other fatal shooting happened at a store in Greektown.
According to Chief White, a dispute over someone cutting another person in line escalated before a store employee was killed.
"The officers were out front patrolling the area, and they heard the gunshot, and it turns out it was some kind of dispute about someone cutting in line," he said.
The victim was taken to the hospital before being pronounced dead.
Two people were taken into custody shortly after the shooting.