Three Men Killed and Four Wounded in Shooting at a Detroit 'After-Hours' Spot
Police Chief Todd Bettison said the Sunday morning shooting on the city's west side grew out of a fight, and that officers had been called to the same address seven times this year.
Three men were killed and four other people were wounded early Sunday when gunfire broke out at an unlicensed "after-hours" spot on Detroit's west side, police said.
Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison told reporters that officers were called to the shooting at about 7:21 a.m. The Detroit News reported that it happened near Eaton Avenue and Prest Street. Officers found three males with what Bettison called "fatal wounds." Four others, two men and two women, were taken to a hospital by private vehicle. Their injuries were not considered life-threatening.
Police have not released the ages of the victims, but Bettison said the three men who died were "approximately 30 and up." Investigators believe the shooting grew out of a fight. Teferi Brent, a senior director in the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood and Community Safety, suggested the dispute may have started over something as small as a phone. "Fights don't have to escalate to a homicide or to a non-fatal shooting, right? If I'm hearing correctly, if it's all over a cell phone," Brent said.
The chief said the department has leads and is working to identify whoever opened fire. It was not immediately clear on Sunday whether anyone had been arrested.
Bettison said the location was well known to police. "This address is not new to the Detroit Police Department," he said, noting that officers had been called there seven times this year. He described the business as resembling a strip club with alleged "dancing-type of activities" and said it had been operating for about 20 years.
Ciera Riley told CBS Detroit that one of the men killed was her brother, a 32-year-old father of four. She described the spot as a place people went to relax. "It's where everybody comes to just have fun and just to mellow down," she said. "Nothing has happened over here for years." She said her brother never hurt anyone. "He's always a loving person. He's here for everybody. So for someone to want to hurt him, it's ridiculous," she said. "He lived for his babies."
Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield, who appeared with the chief at the news conference, said the city's Office of Neighborhood and Community Safety would provide "robust, wraparound services" to families and residents affected by the shooting.
The Detroit killings came on a violent weekend across the country. This weekend, 11 teenagers were wounded when gunfire erupted at a birthday gathering in a park in Macon, Georgia. Police in Detroit asked anyone with information about Sunday's shooting to call Crime Stoppers of Michigan at 1-800-773-2587, where tips can be left anonymously.
