DETROIT (WXYZ) — A 16-year-old girl died in what Detroit police believe was a drive-by shooting Friday morning. An 11-year-old child was also hit by the barrage of bullets. That girl is in temporary serious condition.
“Just a sad situation all around over something... who knows what? Something minor? Even for something major. It’s a child, man," one neighbor told 7 Action News.
The neighbor, who asked not to be identified out of fear for his safety, said he heard the screaming.
"Don't ever want to see nothing like that ever again, man. To be honest. You see it in the movies, but that's not a movie," he said.
It's a grim reality that played out around 12:30 a.m. at the corner of Freeland Street and Lyndon Avenue.
Detroit police say five children were in the home from ages 7 to 16 years old, and no adults were home at the time of the tragedy.
“That right there, it just, it just scares me," longtime neighbor Nadine McWillie said.
She said shootings are not something she’s used to in the area. But like any tragedy, it begs the question "why?"
Detroit Police Department Chief James White spoke with news media in the afternoon.
“We’re looking at every angle, every aspect including perhaps some confrontations that may have happened at her school before school let out before the holiday break," the chief explained.
White said investigators are looking to identity more witnesses.
“Anybody who was in the area that heard gunshots. And as I indicated, the good news is everybody’s got some type of security system on their house and Ring doorbells and that type of thing, and we’re going to be getting search warrants to find out who these perpetrators are," he explained.
The suspect's vehicle is described as a white SUV.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.
