A man “terrified” by randomly shooting four people, killing three of them, including a single mother of five children, Detroit authorities reported.
The shooting began when an unidentified man from 28 years was fatally shot in an “unprovoked” attack before 5: 00 on Sunday morning, police said.
However, no one contacted him 911, even when the gunman he shot the first victim again.
“At 4: 40 on Sunday morning, not many people are up. Some people might have thought they were hearing firecrackers,” Mayor Mike Duggan said at a news conference.
“I think there’s a good chance he expected to get caught,” Duggan said, speculating that the lack of police response might have emboldened him. “And then 35 minutes later, he shoots and kills a second individual and goes on from there.” , he added, killing “innocent people who continue with their lives on a Sunday morning.”
The second person killed was a black woman of about 40 who has not been identified by police, it was this shooting that led neighbors to call 911.
As authorities responded to the scene, they heard that the third victim, Lari Brisco, a mother of five, was fatally shot blocks from the first shootings, officials said.
Brisco “was waiting for a bus when the aggressor walked past her and then , unprovoked, turned around and shot him multiple times,” Major Crimes Commander Michael McGinnis reported.
Similar to the first attack, the shooter “then walked away, came back and shot him more ”, said the commander.
One hour later, a man aged 80 was shot in the her leg nearby while walking his dog. He is the sole survivor, McGinnis revealed.
“Again, without provocation, the assailant just shot and hit him and his dog,” McGinnis said, praising neighbors who rushed to put a tourniquet on him and get immediate medical help for the man.
The dog was shot in the paw and rushed to a veterinarian, according to The Detroit News.
The authorities were able to corroborate that he had used the same 9mm pistol in the four shootings and released a photo of the suspect dressed in black who was being sought by the police.
The 19 year old criminal was arrested 12 hours after officers found a lead. He was found with the 9mm pistol that evidence showed “was used in all four shootings,” the commander said.
The police did not release the name of the suspect, who they said might have some kind of mental illness. As of Monday afternoon, the young man was in custody, but he has not been charged.
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