When do parties cross the line? Detroit police clamp down after violent weekend

This story was originally published by BridgeDetroit .

Detroit police are cracking down on pop-up “block parties” after a weekend of violence that included an early morning shootout at a massive gathering which caused two deaths and 19 injuries.

Chief James White said the Sunday morning mass shooting, which mostly involved teens and young adults, is the worst single incident of violence he’s dealt with since taking the helm of Detroit’s public safety department in 2021.

“This isn’t one suspect, one group being targeted, this is a group of people who are essentially engaged in a shootout,” White said at a Monday press conference.

The eastside shooting, which was reported around 2:30 a.m. Sunday on Rossini Street in the Mohican Regent neighborhood, is a “staggering” tragedy, White said. It ended with six males and 15 females struck by multiple shooters who fired at least 100 times amid a crowd of roughly 300 people gathered across multiple homes on Detroit’s northeast side. Those shot were between the ages of 16 and 27, police said.

Nine weapons were recovered, including one that had a Glock switch that converts a handgun into an automatic weapon, White said. ShotSpotter , Detroit’s automated gunshot surveillance network , reported 63 alerts of gunfire, he said.

“This is unbelievable, even for Detroit,” said Pastor Barry Randolph of the Church of the Messiah on Detroit’s eastside, who often attends city events focused on gun violence. ”We have a lot of work to do.”

White said DPD received more than 500 emergency calls related to large parties since May.

“We’re not talking about your typical barbecues,” White said. “We’re talking about events that have large numbers of people from around the state as far as 50 miles away, that are showing up armed in many instances, with a sense of lawlessness taking over the streets, blocking driveways and things such as that.”

The Sunday bloodshed was one of six shootings at parties during the Independence Day weekend, resulting in three deaths and 24 injuries. Mayor Mike Duggan said the city needed to swiftly roll out a new enforcement strategy that includes an 80-officer patrol unit and faster responses to 911 reports of neighborhood disturbances.

As a result, White said police are raising the response priority for 911 calls that report illegal neighborhood parties. Police respond to priority one calls, the highest level, twice as quickly compared to lower priority calls. Neighborhood parties were previously treated as a priority two or three call, White said.

Sandra Turner-Handy, president of the Denby Neighborhood Alliance, said residents in the Mohican Regent neighborhood reported disturbances to police hours before the party turned violent. One neighbor called four times, she said. White said police received at least three 911 calls.

“911 got a lot of calls that night way before the shooting,” Turner-Handy said. “They called that there was too many kids congregating in the middle of the block. If you get (many) calls from one area about the same incident, they should have sent police. It wouldn’t have happened.”

Duggan said the goal is to keep residents safe from late-night gatherings coordinated through social media that draw young people from outside the city. Eleven of the 21 shooting victims are Detroit residents. The others are from surrounding communities including Eastpointe, Clinton Township, Warren, Southfield, Taylor, Oak Park and St. Clair Shores.

“We’re not going to have neighbors becoming hostages in their own homes this summer,” Duggan said. “These are intentional pre-planned events looking to attract people from miles away. People are coming here carrying illegal weapons, planning to party into the wee hours of the evening, believing that neighbors and the Detroit Police Department will not stop the lawless gatherings.”

New enforcement strategies are aimed at curtailing large parties that block neighborhood streets, cause excessive noise and continue late into the night, officials said.

What is allowed and what isn’t

Block parties are defined as a gathering that requires the closure of one block or a portion of a street for a single day. Parties don’t require a permit if they are confined to a person’s property and noise levels do not disturb neighbors.

Some residents raised concerns about police determining when parties get out of hand, particularly after permit disputes caused DPD to shut down a Cinco de Mayo celebration earlier this year. Detroiters are holding a community hearing on policing Thursday at Clark Park to discuss alleged over-policing of cultural celebrations.

“I think we have an opportunity to do things better and let folks know what the permitting process is,” said Councilmember Fred Durhal III. “We allocated funds for metal detectors that can be used in the community. If this is a permitted block party, those resources could be used.”

Neighborhood parties become illegal when music becomes excessive under the city’s noise ordinances , if cars are parked on sidewalks, lawns, or illegally on the street and if attendees begin loitering in public areas or interfere with vehicular or pedestrian traffic.

Also, the city of Detroit has a general curfew where minors must be accompanied by a guardian in public spaces after 10 p.m. for people 15 and under, or 11 p.m. for 17 and under.

“I want to make sure we can distinguish between what’s a legal party and what’s an illegal party, because we enjoy summer in the neighborhoods,” Duggan said. “Backyard barbecues are a tradition in this city and we want that tradition to continue.”

Applicants have to be leaders of block clubs or housing associations and live on the block. Residents must complete an application 30 days before an event, receive permission from 75% of their neighbors on the block and pay a $75 fee. Parties must end by 10 p.m., Duggan said.

Starting this weekend, police will be dispatching 80 officers to patrol neighborhoods for large gatherings. Police will first issue a warning before closing down unpermitted block parties. Duggan said hosts and organizers of unsanctioned events will be prosecuted under City Codes, subject to a $500 fine and 90 days in jail.

“The goal is not to chase partygoers, but to go after the organizers,” Duggan said. “We are going to arrest them and prosecute the host and property owners for public disturbances.”

A timeline of events

White said officers were responding to another party several blocks away when shots were reported in the 1300 block of Rossini Street. Police arrived to find gunshot victims and bullet casings strewn across the street.

Law enforcement officials declined to speak about the incident in detail or answer questions about it from reporters. No suspects have been arrested as of Monday, and police did not discuss how the violence started. The situation remains under investigation.

Turner-Handy said neighbors told her that shooters camouflaged by darkness emerged from a nearby vacant lot and took an outdoor crowd by surprise.

Police said a 20-year-old woman and 21-year-old man were killed. A 17-year-old girl is hospitalized in critical condition. Fourteen others, aged 16 to 27, are in serious condition. Four people are wounded but in stable condition.

Teferi Brent, a minister, community organizer and co-founder of Dignity 4 Detroit, passionately pleaded with state and local leaders to tackle the root causes of violence. Brent said residents live in “war zones” and must take responsibility for protecting each other.

“We can’t depend on police to make our communities safe for us,” Brent said. “Black men: That’s your job. Fifteen sisters shot. That’s absolutely unacceptable.”

Brent said non-residents are coming to party in Detroit because it has a reputation for being “lawless and lenient.”

The mass shooting occurred within one of six zones where community organizations are working to reduce gun violence using city-funded grants. It happened inside the jurisdiction of a partnership between Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency, the Denby Neighborhood Alliance and Camp Restore.

Detroit’s “ShotStoppers” program launched last year to equip neighborhood organizations with the resources needed to intervene in personal conflicts before they turn violent. The Community Violence Intervention approach has been connected to large drops in nonfatal shootings and homicides in select areas.

Turner-Handy said her organization hasn’t reduced shootings within its eastside jurisdiction enough to continue receiving funding from the city once its current contract expires.

“We’re the most violent ZIP code,” Turner-Handy said, “It didn’t get this way in a year, and it’s not going to stop in a year.”

The Gun Violence Archive, an independent nonprofit dedicated to tracking shootings across the country, recorded six mass shootings involving four or more victims this year. The shootings resulted in four deaths and 40 injuries.

As of June 24, Detroit recorded 81 fewer nonfatal shootings and 22 fewer homicides compared to the same point in 2023. There were 292 nonfatal shootings and 98 homicides — a decline of 22% and 18%

The shooting occurred in Detroit’s 9th precinct, which had previously experienced 58 nonfatal shootings and 18 homicides, off by one from the previous year to date.

When do parties cross the line? Detroit police clamp down after violent weekend · Outlier Media