Detroit shooting: 2 dead, over a dozen injured amid violent 4th of July holiday weekend nationwide

Amid the joyous Fourth of July long weekend, a piece of heart-breaking news has emerged from Detroit. Early Sunday, reports of a mass shooting from the Michigan city's east side painted a gruesome image that left two people dead and 19 others injured, according to the Michigan State Police. Detroit shooting: 2 people died, and 19 people were left injured after a shooting on the city's East side, in the area of Reno St and Rossini Drive. Authorities were seen setting up a three-block perimeter. (Video from WXYZ Detroit)

Initial reports suggest that the State police did not take anyone into custody and that 19 victims had “various injuries.” Per a social media post on X/Twitter, the state officials are assisting Detroit police with the case.

Detroit Police Cpl. Dan Donakowski said the department would be releasing details on the matter later Sunday.

“The Michigan State Police is assisting the Detroit Police Department on a shooting investigation through our partnership on the Homicide Task Force. Preliminary information is there are 19 victims with various injuries and 2 fatal victims. Currently, there is no one in custody. The Detroit Police Department is the lead agency for media contacts. Anyone with information on this shooting is being asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1.800.SPEAK.UP,” MSP Second District wrote on X/Twitter.

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What did the witnesses make of the Detroit shooting?

The incident is said to have happened in the area of Reno St and Rossini Drive. According to WXYZ Detroit, this particular tragedy stemmed from “a block party gone wrong.” According to The Detroit News, hundreds were gathered at the party. 21-year-old Michael Pope, who was also at the gathering claimed he heard gunshots at about 2 am.

Invited to the place by a childhood friend, Pope said there were a lot of people “who went to school with each other. It wasn't no arguing, no fighting.” He also seemed to have witnessed a man suffering from a gunshot wound to his chest while another woman grappled with the pain of a gunshot wound to her kneecap.

Pope claims to have taken off running after he heard the shooting. “Everybody took cover, stampeding over people,” he added.

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Other sources said that afflicted victims were taken to St John Hospital in Detroit for aid.

The Detroit shooting is not the first of its kind to plague the country amid the ongoing Fourth of July long weekend. Moreover, it only adds to the general trend of rising violence during the summer months. The Associated Press reported that researchers often attribute this to a package of influential factors, including social events and alcohol consumption.

Officials call out how shootings have become the “new normal”

Detroit Police Commissioner Ricardo Moore condemned how these shootings have been normalised. “Come Jan. 1, the police will say crime is down and then we’ll start all over again. Funeral homes, hospitals and florists are the only people who profit from Detroit crime.”

On the same page of the conversation, US Rep Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, tweeted: “We can not normalize this. Another senseless shooting today, leaving families in our community, shattered. We owe it to our families to address this crisis with urgency. We need to save lives now.”

Watch authorities set up a three-block perimeter in the area: