DEARBORN, Mich. – There have been a staggering number of illegal guns found in Dearborn this year as police report an increase in shootings and murder rate.
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There have already been more homicides in Dearborn this year than in all of 2019, police Chief Ronald Haddad told the Local 4 Defenders.
Haddad said there were only four murders in Dearborn last year, and there have already been five in 2020. He spoke with the Defenders about an alarming violence issue in the city.
“Shooting incidents have doubled," Haddad said. “Six last year, 12 this year.”
“How concerned are you?” Local 4 Defender Shawn Ley asked.
“It’s very concerning,” Haddad said. “Gun arrests are up 140%.”
That percentage is just from June to July of this year. When police officers conduct traffic stops and respond to road rage incidents, they’re finding guns, Haddad said.
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“Increasingly, we are coming in contact with armed persons,” he said. “Illegally armed. It causes me great concern, just to know they are facing that on the street -- really concerned about their safety. We are trained but vulnerable at this time."
Haddad said there haven’t been any violent interactions between police and the public, but he said right now people are angry and armed.