Man suspected of randomly killing 3 ‘terrorized’ Detroit, police chief says

DETROIT — A 19-year-old man suspected of randomly killing three people on Detroit streets over roughly two hours may have been emboldened when he didn’t encounter police after the first shooting, the mayor said Monday.

No one called 911 when a 28-year-old man was shot Sunday, less than two miles from a police station, Mayor Mike Duggan said.

“At 4:45 on a Sunday morning, not a lot of people are up. Some people might have thought they were hearing firecrackers,” Duggan said. “We’ll see what the facts show. I think there’s a strong probability he expected to get caught. … And then 35 minutes later he shoots and kills a second individual and proceeds from there.”

The shootings created anxiety all day Sunday until the man was peacefully arrested about 12 hours later, following a tip from someone close to him. Police said he may have a mental illness.

He “terrorized our community,” Chief James White said.

Bishop Daryl Harris of Total Life Christian Ministries said he could “feel the panic” in his congregation when he informed people that an active shooter was at large.

“Many of our members were distraught as they ran out of the sanctuary to try to call their loved ones and families,” Harris said.

No charges had been filed by Monday afternoon.

The first incident occurred at 4:45 a.m. The suspect shot a man without provocation, walked away and then returned to fire more shots, White said.

About 30 minutes later and three blocks away, police got their first 911 call for a woman in her 40s shot on a sidewalk. A third victim, another woman in her 40s, was shot multiple times while waiting for a bus a short distance away.

“He then stepped away, came back and fire more rounds into her,” said Michael McGinnis, major crimes commander.

A fourth shooting occurred at 7:10 a.m. while an 80-year-old man was walking his dog, McGinnis said. He survived.

A gun found by police matched the bullet casings at the shooting scenes, McGinnis said.

Duggan described the victims as “innocent people going about their lives on a Sunday morning.”