(WXYZ) — Detroit Police are on the hunt for a man and woman in connection to four people shotand injured in a park on the city's west side.
Police say it happened just before 9 p.m. after two women believed to be around age 18 got into an altercation at Stein Park near Cathedral and Southfield Rd.
Officers say one of the women called a man she knows, who then showed up to the park with a gun in his backpack. Police say the man fired 4 rounds in the park hitting two women, one of which is pregnant, and two small children aged 3 and 6. Police say ShotSpotter technology installed in the neighborhood alerted them before any 911 calls came in.
Police say all four victims were transferred to the hospital where they are recovering.
“It's very upsetting. After seeing it once is too many,” said Darrius Burks Jr. as he worked out on the park’s track Thursday afternoon. “For that to happen, that’s very traumatic to them, at a really, really young age. That’s traumatic for anybody in general.”
Burks said he lives in a neighboring area and he and his dad use the park for exercise fairly often.
“To hear that this happened over here, it sets us back another hundred years hearing this stuff,” said Darrius Burks Sr. “Why can't grown folks handle their differences verbally or stay away from each other? Why does someone have to go get a gun to solve everything and now your life is ruined and you maybe also ruined these kids lives.”
Thursday police continued canvassing the neighborhood with a canine. Police say there have now been 16 children shot in the city this year; 12 were nonfatal, four were fatal. It’s unclear how many were self-inflicted.
“Kids need somewhere to go and we were fortunate enough to get this wonderful playscape and everything. People are working out, everybody exercising and I see them and it's nice but you don't want to come here if you don't feel safe,” said Ruth Jordan.
Jordan is one of three founding members of the Alumni Club at nearby Frank Cody High School. Although Jordan says she doesn’t live in the neighborhood where the shooting happened, she’s often there to help with Cody HS students.
For years, Jordan says she has been advocating for additional safeguards in the park as many community members have access to the space but do not keep it clean following events. She says news of the shooting was disappointing.
“They didn’t think about the children around them. It was upsetting. It was very upsetting,” Jordan said.
Police say in addition to Shot Spotter, there is also green light technology installed in the area for surveillance. The city's parks and recreation department also adds that security for Stein Park had already been in the works. A representative from the department says Tuesday a security contractor was approved for the park. The security officer, who is expected to work closely with Detroit police, worked their first shift Wednesday night.
A resident who didn't want to go on camera for fear of retaliation told 7 News Detroit to prevent future shootings, the entire community will have to do its part.
“I felt kind of disappointed but not only at the young people. I felt disappointed at us, the adults and the system like I was saying. We can’t have kids think it’s okay to resolve conflict with guns. That’s says a lot about us as a community,” the neighbor said. “I think as parents too we need to start paying attention to our kids. We need to start looking in the book bags, looking in the rooms and if you see attitude changing we can help law enforcement, our community by being proactive.”
Police are still actively searching for the man and woman believed to be responsible for the shooting. Police have not provided a detailed description of the suspects. Anyone with information should call Detroit Police or crime stoppers if you wish to remain anonymous.
