DETROIT – Detroit police said they made an arrest and plan to shut down a problematic banquet hall after one person was killed and five others were hurt in an overnight shooting.
Interim Detroit police Chief James White said three men and three women between the ages of 26 and 46 were shot around 2 a.m. Tuesday (July 13) outside the Chalmers Banquet Hall in the 9800 block of Chalmers Street on the city’s east side.
Watch the report from Local 4 News at 5 below:
One of the shooting victims, a man around 30 years old, was killed, according to authorities. The other five people are either in serious condition or temporary serious condition, officials said.
Suspect identified
White said police have identified a suspect. Tuesday evening it was announced that an arrest had been made.
“We’ve identified a suspect,” White said at 2:21 p.m. Tuesday. “We hope to have an arrest in a matter of moments, likely before this press briefing is complete.”
He said there was an exchange of gunfire between people who were at the banquet hall and the suspect, who was firing into the location.
“We believe that this is a a known suspect and a targeted victim, so the community is not at risk,” White said. “This was some type of conflict between the two parties involved. This was not a random shooting.”
Banquet Hall to be shut down
White said during the course of the police department’s investigation into the shooting, officers realized the building has not been properly licensed since 2013.
He said DPD will work with the Detroit Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department to shut down the banquet hall.
“We’ve had a number of incidents at this location,” White said. “About four years ago, we responded to an incident where there were six people shot, and one died at that time. So we’ve got some problems with this business.
“It’s a problem for our community. We’re not saying incidents can’t happen, but there’s a responsibility of the ownership of the business to make sure that they put the necessary security provisions in place and ensure that these things don’t happen.”
White said when his officers went into the banquet hall, they discovered the business was unlicensed. He said he plans to “take the appropriate action to shut them down.”
“When they open back up, we’ll make sure that they have the appropriate security provisions, fire safety, lighting, all those things,” White said. “All those things will be talked about.”
More about the investigation
White made it clear that he couldn’t provide any details that would compromise the investigation, but he did say that police are using some video and Project Green Light footage from the area.
He also confirmed “well over 100 people” were inside the banquet hall before the shooting.
White doesn’t know if all the shooting victims were targeted. Officers found at least 20 spent shell casings at the scene.
Police are still early in the investigation, but they expect to find out much more about the details of the shooting once they have taken the suspect into custody.
You can watch White’s full press briefing below.