MONROE, Mich. – Police believe drugs were connected to a Monroe shooting that killed a 38-year-old man and left a 34-year-old woman injured, authorities said at a Wednesday news conference.
UPDATE: Suspected gunman wanted in Monroe shooting
Monroe residents shot
Monroe police Chief Charles McCormick said officers were called at 8:03 p.m. Tuesday to a home in the 300 block of Kentucky Avenue.
First responders found the woman had been shot twice in the arm and the man had been shot in the neck, McCormick said.
Officials worked on the victims, but the man was pronounced dead on the way to the hospital or at the hospital, police said. The woman came out of surgery before 2 p.m. Wednesday and has non-life-threatening injuries, according to authorities.
McCormick said the two victims walked up to the home on Kentucky Avenue, where an argument and altercation ensued with someone who's believed to be staying at the home.
There were about a dozen witnesses in the area at the time of the shooting, and police are aware of four shots being fired, according to McCormick.
The two victims were shot outside the home, and the gunman fled in a vehicle, according to police.
Authorities said the two victims never entered the home and were shot in the yard.
"Initially, our understanding is that the two victims arrived at the location on foot," McCormick said. "After the shooting, the suspect fled in a vehicle."
Police seek person of interest
McCormick said he suspects the shooting was drug-related.
Police said they are searching for a person of interest in the case. Monroe police Capt. J.D. Wall said the person of interest is a 23-year-old Monroe man.
"We do have a subject of interest that we're looking to speak with," McCormick said. "We have several witnesses from the scene who are cooperating with us."
The two victims and the shooter knew each other, according to McCormick. He said this was not a case of an armed person looking for someone to shoot.
"We do believe all three people did know one another," McCormick said. "We don't want the public to believe there was just an armed person out looking to shoot at people. There was some type of an argument that happened with three people that knew one another, two of which were shot."
Police said the woman was cooperative in the investigation before going into surgery. Wall said she gave them the first name of the person of interest. They hope she can give them more information after she has recovered from surgery.
A search warrant was executed at the home, McCormick said.
Wall said detectives are actively searching for the person of interest, including using phones and other sources to try to track him down.
"We have a whole team of detectives at this point, including our Vice Unit, that's working in concert with some other agencies, as well, who are helping us out with some tips and trying to corroborate all these statements and information together," Wall said.
First homicide in Monroe since 2015
McCormick said this is the first homicide of the year in Monroe and, to his knowledge, the first one since 2015.
"This will be my fourth year as chief, this is my first murder," McCormick said. "We've had as many as three in a year, or maybe one year four in the late '80s, but we've had one a year for a number of years. This is the first one since 2015, I believe."
He said he's not aware of any criminal history for the victims or the person of interest. He said the victims live about two blocks away from where the shots were fired.
Officials said they received at least two 911 calls after the shots were fired -- one from a victim and one from a witness.
The investigation is still active, McCormick said.
The Monroe County Prosecutor's Office is also involved in the investigation, Wall said.
You can watch McCormick's full statements in the video posted below.
You can watch Wall's full statements in the video posted below.