Detroit – A man in his 60s experiencing a mental health crisis shot and killed three people on Detroit’s east side.
The incident happened at 8:57 p.m. on Monday (July 15) at the intersection of Gratiot Avenue and Van Dyke, when a man walked into the gas station, became upset about a situation and claimed someone was following him.
“The man left the police station, returned to his vehicle and when members of the public pulled up he fired nine shots indiscriminately, striking three people,” Detroit Police Chief James White said. “We know there are four people injured and at this time we have confirmed three people have been shot.”
Authorities responded to the scene within two minutes and arrested the man without incident, according to the release.
DPD said they are investigating why the man came to the gas station and whether he had a history of mental illness.
One of the three people shot was a pregnant woman in her 20s who was taken to a metro Detroit hospital in critical condition.
There was a man in his 30s and a woman in her 20s. White said the fourth person was a woman who was injured. She said she did not believe she had been shot.
White said he could be heard saying he was tired of kids and people following him.
“He was having a casual conversation about how he was tired of kids and people following him,” White said. “Eventually, he went outside and started shooting. People were trying to get into the building and fortunately, while he was inside, he waved them away so no more people could get in. Otherwise, it could have been a lot more tragic.”
White said the man was wearing a medical bracelet on his arm at the time of the shooting.
“This is a tragedy,” White said. “This doesn’t need to happen. We’ve had conversations here before about mental health and gun violence and we do everything we can as police to remain vigilant in the community. Our officers were here in two minutes and without them I’m sure more people would have been shot.”
Detroit Police Chief James White speaks out about mental health crisis shooting on Detroit’s east side
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