DETROIT – James White, the Chief of the Detroit Police Department, addressed a violent weekend in the city Monday, June 3.
In two separate incidents, nine people were shot. While violence tends to pick up as things get warmer, police are hoping this is not a sign of what’s to come.
The first shooting took place at about 1 a.m. Saturday near the intersection of Florence and Trinity streets on the city’s west side. Police said more than 100 people were at the scene and four were shot. One of the injured may have been shot by a Detroit police officer, but that’s under investigation.
The second incident happened an hour later at West Warren Avenue and West Grand Boulevard. Five people were shot.
“We know that the summer months are the months that we typically see an uptick in violence, but that’s unacceptable and we have to do everything we can as a police department to reduce crime,” White said. “We continue to see the numbers statistically move in the right direction with regards to a reduction over the same time last year, but those are mere numbers when you’re talking about five people being shot. Four people being shot at events throughout our city. You can’t celebrate numbers when you’ve got real people that are impacted by this violence.”
Police are still looking for the people responsible in both shootings. The investigation is ongoing.