Detroit prom send off turns chaotic when shots ring out near MLK High School
Detroit prom send off turns scary after shots ring out
Students at their prom send off in Detroit fled in terror after the sound of bullets rang out on the city's east side. No one was injured, but many were shaken.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - High school students gussied up in their dresses and suits were celebrating their prom at a Detroit high school when shots rang out.
Police are now looking for the man accused of firing approximately 20 rounds on Detroit's east side.
What we know:
An individual fired approximately 20 rounds near a Detroit high school early Thursday evening. No one was injured, but dozens of students getting ready for their senior prom were sent fleeing.
It happened in the 3200 block of E. Lafayette, near Martin Luther King High School around 8:30 p.m.
Police are searching for a Black male who was wearing a white zip-up, identifying him as a person-of-interest.
Local perspective:
Davon Hall was among those near the school when shots rang out. He said the scene was "hectic, scary" and chaotic with kids running in different directions.
Kids flying out of here in all type of cars, traffic everywhere. Police just sitting there," he said. "It was a secure area but it turned crazy like a movie real quick."
Hall was taking photos and videos of the students decked out in suits and dresses, readying up for prom, when the shots rang out.
"I recorded just instantly and I start seeing the kids running around and following them. I was trying to be as aware as I could," he said.
He was left dejected by the picture the tarrying scene painted for the area.
"We are not like this. King high school has been elevated and has been bringing nothing but good news to the community. This is something that is so depressing," said Hall.
Person of interest sought after shots fired in parking lot of Detroit high school
Shots were fired in the parking lot of Detroit's Martin Luther King High School on Thursday night.
Dig deeper:
Maurice Hardwick, who goes by Pastor Mo and frequently commentates on community violence and the impact it has on young people, echoed Hall's sentiment.
"When bullets fly people die. We can’t have a shooting around a school, around a prom, around a graduation - anything like that," Hardwick said. "You didn’t deserve to be scared like that, you didn’t deserve to have bullets ring out on your one night of celebration like that."
Hardwick works with Living Peace Movement. He said more mentorship is needed to stamp out the kind of gun violence that rang out Thursday evening.
"Celebrate and keep on achieving and use this as a tool to say ‘I’m not going to be involved in violence,'" he said.
What you can do:
Police are searching for the individual and want anyone who was in the area at the time to give them a call. They may also ring Crime Stoppers at 1-800 Speak Up.
The Source: Interviews with witnesses and video of the scene was used while reporting this story.