Detroit police seek help locating suspect who shot man, son on Father's Day

Detroit — A father and son spent Father's Day in separate hospitals after a gunman opened fire on them Sunday morning, hitting an 11-year-old boy in the chest and his father in the leg.

"People should be celebrating Father's Day, but what we have right now is a father and a child in the hospital with gunshot wounds," Detroit police Cmdr. Arnold Williams said at a press briefing near the shooting site at the intersection of St. Mary's and Plymouth on Detroit's west side.

The violence sparked just before 8 a.m., when the driver of a black Chrysler 300 pulled up beside a Chevrolet Suburban containing the father and son and two other people that was parked on St. Mary's near Plymouth, police said.

An armed man exited the passenger side of the Chrysler and fired multiple shots at the Chevrolet before fleeing north on St. Mary's, police said.

The father, 33, and his son were in stable condition, police said. A third man, a male in his 30s who ran from the vehicle and was shot,also was in stable condition.

Sunday's shooting likely was prompted by an earlier conflict at a party, Williams said. He said he watched a video of the incident and said the occupants of the Chrysler seemed to target the truck.

"After they identified the truck, they slowed down," Williams said. "A passenger got out and fired multiple shots from what appears to be an assault rifle or an assault pistol."

Police are seeking help in identifying and locating two male suspects.  

The first suspect, the passenger in the car, has a slim build, dark brown complexion and short hair. He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, stone-washed two-tone jeans, and black and white gym shoes. He is considered armed and dangerous.

Police do no have a description of the second suspect, the driver.

Police ask anyone who has seen the suspects or has information about the crime to call the department’s Sixth Precinct Investigative Unit at (313) 596-5640 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-Speak Up.  

The Sunday morning violence occurred hours after a candlelight vigil honored two other children who recently were shot.

Two-year-old Brison Christian was killed in a shooting Thursday on Interstate 75 and his brother, BJ, was injured. Michigan State Police announced on Twitter earlier Saturday it had made "multiple arrests" in connections to the shooting.

Williams said Sunday: "Not only is the violence affecting adults; the violence is affecting children, and children are innocent. They should not get pulled into this."