Police Chief Todd Bettison said in a news conference that officers responded to the shooting around 7:21 a.m. According to The Detroit News, it happened near Eaton Avenue and Prest Street on the city’s west side.
The officers found three males suffering from “fatal wounds,” Bettison said. Four others, two men and two women, were privately taken to a hospital after the shooting with injuries that were not life-threatening.
The ages of the individuals shot have not yet been disclosed, though Bettison said the three males who died were “approximately 30 and up.”
According to investigators, the shooting stemmed from a fight.
“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,” Teferi Brent, senior director of the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood and Community Safety, said.
The police chief says his department has leads and that it’s working to identify those responsible, though it wasn’t immediately known whether any arrests had been made.
“This address is not new to the Detroit Police Department,” he said, noting police had seven calls to the location this year.
Bettison suggested the spot resembled a strip club and said it’s been operating for 20 years.
“It’s where everybody comes to just have fun and just to mellow down,” Ciera Riley said. “Like, if you want to just chill and be, you know, good vibes, this is where you come. So for this to happen, it’s crazy. Nothing has happened over here for years.”
Ciera Riley identifies one of the males killed as her brother. She said he was 32 years old and a father of four.
“He doesn’t do any harm to anyone. He’s always a loving person. He’s here for everybody. So for someone to want to hurt him, it’s ridiculous. It’s crazy,” Riley said.
Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield said at the news conference that the Office of Neighborhood and Community Safety will have “robust, wraparound services” for residents and families impacted by the shooting.
“I’m trying to keep my composure for my siblings and for the rest of our family and friends because it’s about to be rough. Like, it’s his children, he, his babies. He lived for his babies,” Riley said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers of Michigan at 1-800-773-2587.
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