DETROIT (WWJ) - Detroit police are on the hunt for multiple suspects after four people were hit by gunfire in a targeted shooting outside a historic hotel in downtown Detroit early Friday morning.
Detroit Police Chief James White said the shooting occurred just after midnight in the area of Michigan Avenue and Washington Blvd. outside the Westin Book-Cadillac Detroit hotel.
According to White, the suspects and the victims knew one another and had an argument at a previous location before the violence spilled over outside the popular downtown hotel.
The suspects had driven up, parked and waited, White said. Once the victims arrived on scene, the suspects sped by in a dark colored Jeep or Durango and open fired.
The victims, all males between the ages of 20 and 30-years-old, allegedly returned gunfire and the suspect vehicle fled the scene.
“The officers were there in this area and heard the shots and were so close, in fact, that they ended up conveying at least three of the victims to the hospital after they were shot," White said of his officers' response to the scene. "They also applied tourniquets to the victims, likely saving at least one of the victim’s lives."
Three victims were said by White to be in critical condition. The fourth victim was listed in temporary serious condition.
White said there was a fifth person with the victims in their vehicle who ran from the scene when the bullets went flying. Officers also found three weapons in the victims' vehicle.
“The shooting is another example of just senseless violence -- senseless violence all over the country, all over the city," White added. "Fighting, arguments that are ending in gunfire for no good reason.”
A vehicle parked curbside at the entrance to the Westin Book-Cadillac Detroit was sprayed with bullets from the exchange and bullet holes were visible on the side of the hotel, WWJ's Mike Campbell reported from the scene earlier Friday morning.
White reiterated that the shooting stemmed directly from the conflict between the two groups and had nothing to do with the hotel, its guests or any business nearby.
"We know that we have two groups that were having some type of conflict with each other who met up earlier in the night at another location," White continued. "...they then moved from that location at separate times to the secondary location where the incident occurred.”
White said Detroit police are actively investigating the incident and gathering evidence and information to help them determine the path of the suspect vehicle and track down the suspects. With the plethora of cameras in the area, White was confident police will make an arrest.
“We will be relentless in our pursuit," he promised. "We will not stop until we get this person in custody so they will not strike again."
Anyone with any information has been asked to contact the Detroit Police Department at 313-596-2200. Anonymous tips can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-773-2587.
Online submissions can be made here.