Man charged in random Detroit shootings that killed 3
Wayne County Prosecutor has filed multiple felony charges against shooting suspect Dontae Smith
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A 19-year-old man was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder in a series of seemingly random shootings over roughly two hours last weekend in Detroit that left three people dead and a fourth wounded.
Wayne County Prosecutor has filed multiple felony charges against Dontae Smith including murder, assault and animal cruelty for the random shootings last weekend, FOX 2 Detroit reports.
"It is not an overstatement to say that on Sunday morning ... this ... defendant reigned real terror on the citizens [of] northwest Detroit," Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement while announcing charges. "Normal, everyday life was brought to a standstill as he moved east to his next victim."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Smith killed three people in a shooting spree that started around 4:30 a.m. Sunday, police said. Police Chief James White said that the suspect may have been dealing with a mental illness.
Dontae Ramon Smith, 19, is charged with the random murders of three women in a shooting spree on Sunday. (Detroit Police Department)
Mayor Mike Duggan told reporters Monday that the man also may have been emboldened after not encountering officers following the first shooting at about 4:45 a.m. when a 28-year-old man was slain less than two miles from a police station. At that early hour, no calls were made to 911, Duggan said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The prosecutor’s office said police found the man’s body in the doorway of a church.
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Detroit Police and investigators look over a homicide scene on Wyoming Avenue, near the corner of Seven Mile Road, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2022, in Detroit. Four people were shot, with fatalities, by a person who appeared to be firing at people randomly over a roughly 2 1/2-hour period Sunday morning in Detroit, police said. (Jose Juarez/Special to Detroit News via AP)
About 30 minutes later someone called 911 after finding a woman shot about three blocks from the first shooting. She has not yet been identified.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Another woman, Lari Brisco, a 43-year-old single mother of five children, was waiting nearby for a city bus when she was shot multiple times. Both women died from their wounds.
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Detroit Police and investigators look over a shooting scene on Pennington Drive, north of Seven Mile Road, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2022, in Detroit. Four people were shot, with fatalities, by a person who appeared to be firing at people randomly over a roughly 2 1/2-hour period Sunday morning in Detroit, police said. (Jose Juarez/Special to Detroit News via AP)
Then, at about 7:10 a.m., 76-year-old John Palik was shot in the leg while walking his dog. The dog was shot in a paw. Both survived.
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Police spent 12 hours searching for Smith and peacefully arrested him Sunday at his home following a tip from someone close to him. Police said a gun was found that matched shell casings at the shooting scenes.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.