DETROIT (WXYZ) — Detroit police are searching for a suspect and a person of interest after a shooting injured two people downtown as the annual Ford Fireworks event was taking place.
The shooting happened around 10:04 p.m. — right before the fireworks show began — near Larned and Randolph streets.
Watch police hold a press conference with information below:
Detroit police confirmed that a 17-year-old boy and a 22-year-old woman were shot.
They're now looking for a suspect and a person of interest in connection to the shooting. Police said video captured the incident including when the gun went off. They provided pictures of who they're looking for.
The suspected shooter was wearing a blue hoodie, blue shorts and white shoes, Bettison said. He said the person of interest was we wearing a white shirt, white pants and white shoes.
Police said they both took off into a parking structure after the shooting and have not yet been found.
Police said there was a group of young people in the area and two males got into a fight. One of those males pulled out a handgun and fired at least two shots, hitting the victims.
With a heavy police presence downtown for the event, Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison said officers nearby responded to the victims within a minute.
One of them was shot in the hand and the other was shot in the legs, police said. Both victims suffered non-life-threatening injuries and are expected to be OK.
A third person was detained after the shooting. Police said that person was not involved and was released.
The shooting happened outside of a gun-free zone, where many gathered to watch the fireworks show. Metal detectors were near the shooting scene just across the street, Bettison said.
"We had Spirit Plaza, we had Hart plaza and one of the things that we do in preparation is ensuring that individuals go through metal detectors and so that it's a gun-free zone, and so I've been out here walking all night," Bettison said. "Walking through Hart Plaza and it was good in there. Everybody felt comfortable. And in Spirit Plaza as well. And so here was just outside of a clean zone. But when I'm going before city council asking for clean zones and making sure that areas where people can view it safely, this is the reason that we ask."
Though other fights broke out downtown, Bettison said there were less altercations than previous years and officers were close by to intervene.
"Our officers, we were there to break up any fights that occurred ASAP. As you can see we're heavy, heavy concentration," the chief said. "The only thing I did hear of in Spirit Plaza is somebody suffered a seizure and so they fell, hit their head, but... we have the fire department, we had our paramedics, we have our EMTs, and they were able to aid the injured ASAP."
Bettison pointed out that most people attending the fireworks show had a good time.
"It was thousands and thousands and thousands of people here, and I will tell you that they all had a great time. They were in our clean zone, so if you talk to the people that were in Hart Plaza and that were in Spirit Plaza, they'll give you a different message," he said.
In a separate incident, an officer working traffic was hit by a car. The officer suffered injuries that are not life threatening.
"I just want to say that the men and women of the Detroit Police Department, I could not be more proud of them. They were out here. The whole department has to work and so they're out here," Bettison said. "They are superheroes working to keep folks safe, keep vehicle traffic moving, and that's what they do."
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Editor's note: Police initially said both victims are minors but later clarified their ages. This article has been updated to reflect those details.
