2 dead, 2 wounded in shooting on Detroit's west side

Two people are dead and two others wounded after a shooting Sunday on Detroit's west side that police say stemmed from a fight.

Assistant Detroit police Chief Charles Fitzgerald said one of the wounded is in critical condition and the other is in temporary serious condition.

He said the two dead are in their mid-30s and the two wounded are both teens.

Fitzgerald said investigators are searching for a male suspect in the shooting. They believe he fled the scene in a silver Jeep Patriot, he said.

Police said the shooting happened in the 8600 block of Rosemont Avenue near Southfield and Joy roads.

Officers were called to the area of the shooting twice on Sunday, Fitzgerald said.

The first time, which happened at about 6:15 p.m., officers were called to a home for a report of individuals exiting the house and brandishing firearms. They fled when police arrived, he said.

About an hour later, officers were called to the same area for a report of a shooting, the assistant chief said.

According to a preliminary investigation, a fight between two parties at two houses across the street from each other escalated into the shooting. The two dead were at one house and the two wounded were at another, police said.

Fitzgerald said it appears a group of older individuals in one house were angry about the other group of younger people brandishing weapons outside. Detectives said one of the slain victims had small children with him in one of the houses before the shooting.

A member of the older group then got into a fight with a member of the other group, Fitzgerald said.

The older male appeared to be winning the fight when the suspect, who was armed with an AK-47 rifle, intervened and shot him, which caused a gunfight, he said.

cramirez@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @CharlesERamirez