This story has been updated to add new information.
A ShotSpotter alert sent Detroit police to a desolate block at nearly 10 p.m. on Wednesday, June 24 where they discovered a man shot dead and a 9-year-old boy critically injured from several gunshot wounds to the stomach and leg.
Detroit police said they received 18 ShotSpotter alerts at about 9:40 p.m. in the 14600 block of Burgess on the city’s west side. Officers arrived seven minutes later, but “a 911 call did not come to this location at all,” Deputy Chief Tiffany Stewart said at the scene June 24, according to video provided by the department.
Stewart said there was little information known about the shooting. Officers initially weren’t sure if the man found dead was related to the child, but on June 25 confirmed he was. Police also confirmed that the boy is 9 years old, not 7 years old as previously thought.
The boy could provide a first name when officers found him, but didn’t provide his last. When he was taken to the hospital for surgery, there was no parent or guardian with him, she said. As of Thursday, June 25, Detroit police were able to locate the child’s mother and the boy is in the hospital recovering.
And as for the suspect, “we have no idea who we’re looking for,” Stewart said.
The man and the child were found outside about seven or eight houses down from each other with several shell casings from a high-caliber weapon at the scene, which Stewart described as a “very vacant block” with houses boarded up.
“Theres nothing over here,” she said as she pleaded for the public to come forward with any information that could bring justice to the victims.
Those with information can call Detroit Police Major Crimes at 313-596-2260, or send an anonymous tip by calling 1-800-SpeakUp or through DetroitRewards.TV.
Andrea Sahouri covers criminal justice for the Detroit Free Press. Contact her at asahouri@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Man shot dead, 9-year-old injured on ‘very vacant’ west Detroit street
Reporting by Andrea May Sahouri, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Andrea May Sahouri, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
