Fourth victim discovered in Noel Night shooting

Police are reporting a fourth victim in Saturday's shooting outside the Detroit Institute of Arts during the city's signature Noel Night celebration.

While police previously said three teens were shot — two male, ages 14 and 15, and one 17-year-old female — Detroit Police Sgt. Nicole Kirkwood said an additional victim, a 19-year-old male, arrived at a hospital on his own, where he told staff that he had been shot doing Noel Night.

He was grazed in the hand and the leg, according to Kirkwood. All four victims are now in stable condition, she added.

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While the circumstances surrounding the incident are unknown, Kirkwood said a preliminary investigation found that a dispute erupted Saturday night around 7:40 p.m. near Farnsworth and John R streets, followed by multiple gunshots.

After the shooting, streets near the DIA were blocked off and a police helicopter with a spotlight circled above the area; nearby Wayne State University's campus was put on lockdown.

Describing the incident, Detroit Police Chief James Craig told WXYZ-TV, "Some pushing, some shoving, and then shots fired. We have police employed throughout the venue. They heard the shots and responded. ... And they were able to respond and treat the victim. One of the police officers actually transported the victim to the local hospital.

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"It's ridiculous. ... Why? For what? Why is there a need to use a weapon? We're going to do as much as we can to ID the shooter."

Kirkwood described the shooter as a light-skinned black man who was wearing tan pants.

For those who were at Noel Night — or had loved ones in attendance — the gunfire was a reminder of some of the very real struggles the city of Detroit still faces when it comes to violence.

"I read about the shootings on Facebook and knew my mom and daughter were at the DIA," Detroiter Margarita Barry told the Free Press, explaining she had felt under the weather Saturday and so her mother took her 5-year-old to the festive gathering.

"My mind jumped to the very worst thoughts when I wasn't able to contact her for over an hour. That was the most terrifying hour of my life."

Ultimately, everyone was safe, with Barry's sister, Tanya Stephens, who was also with the 5-year-old, taking to social media to explain what had happened.

"It's Detroit, we've been through worse times. We still had a fun time at Mocad and Nnamdi," she wrote, adding, "Next year, though I hope they have enough sense to have a curfew for the young people (there were soooo many unchaperoned kids felt like the fireworks) and more lighting. I kind of had a sense it had potential for chaos."

For Barry, who lives in Detroit's Eye Neighborhood on the northwest side, the shooting in Midtown — one of the city's re-development focal points — brings renewed focus to a gun violence issue that is often brushed over when discussing Detroit's comeback.

"I live in a neighborhood that is no stranger to the sounds of gunshots in the middle of the night, although it isn't a regular occurrence, it's often enough for me to never let my guard down — no matter what city I'm in," Barry wrote in a private message. "It's a reminder of the violence that continues to plague not only Detroit but America. This isn't just a Detroit thing, this is a nationwide issue that we should never normalize."

In the past 72 hours, there have been three people killed by guns in the city of Detroit, and seven people who have been injured, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive, which has not included the most recent Noel Night victim in its tally yet.

When asked about the incident by WDIV Saturday evening, Chief Craig stressed that the Noel Night shooting should not alter perceptions about safety.

"Sometimes it's one incident like this that creates so much fear, but this should not be the incident that defines who we are," he said.

Contact Allie Gross: aegross@freepress.com. Staff writers Tresa Baldas, Niraj Warikoo and other Free Press staff contributed to this report.