A quiet summer evening at a Detroit senior living complex turned violent Monday night, leaving four people wounded in a bizarre incident that neighbors say may have been fueled by a love triangle.
Gunfire Erupts at Backyard Barbecue
The shooting happened around 9:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 11, when police say a man approached residents gathered for a barbecue in the backyard of the complex and opened fire, according to WXYZ, Fox 2, and Click On Detroit.
“He came down and started firing shots,” Detroit Police Deputy Chief Arnold Williams told reporters. “Three people were wounded by his firing those shots. During that time… one of the individuals who was shot tackled the shooter. Took him to the ground. He dropped his weapon when a good Samaritan picked it up and, in self-defense, fired the weapon and wounded the shooter.”
All four people — the original three victims and the suspected gunman — were taken to Detroit Receiving Hospital in stable condition.
From Noise Complaint to ‘Love Triangle’?
Initially, Williams told reporters the shooting might have been sparked by a resident upset about noise from the barbecue. “This is a shooting that is so ridiculous in nature that you can’t even explain it,” he said.
However, a neighbor, Reginal Ervin, later told Fox 2 a very different story — claiming it was about romance gone wrong.
“[It was a] love triangle,” Ervin said. “He said he was gonna kill him and that’s what he said he was going to do.”
According to Ervin, the shooter was a man in his early 70s whose love interest, a 65-year-old woman, had recently begun dating another man in his 70s who uses a wheelchair. Ervin said the shooter targeted the new boyfriend and two other people before being tackled and disarmed.
In a twist, Ervin claimed the 65-year-old woman — the alleged love interest — picked up the dropped gun and shot the original shooter.
Neighbors React
Another neighbor, Joe Nathan Piper, told WXYZ that disputes aren’t uncommon in the complex. “Age really doesn’t matter, man, 60, 70. Some people are thugs for life. They just get older and stupider,” he said.
Investigation Ongoing
A Detroit Police Department spokesperson told PEOPLE the incident remains under investigation, and an update on the motive will be provided at a later date.
