State Sen. Smith held in shooting at car

Detroit — State Sen. Virgil Smith was in police custody Sunday after gunshots were fired at a vehicle outside his home early that morning, according to a police source who asked not to be identified.

Smith, 35, was taken into custody at about noon Sunday, the source said.

More than one blast from a shotgun was fired at a 2015 Mercedes-Benz outside Smith's home on Wexford Street on Detroit's north side around 1 a.m., Detroit Police Chief James Craig confirmed.

The woman who owns the car, identified as Smith's girlfriend and ex-wife, was uninjured. The vehicle was hit at least once.

"This is still an ongoing investigation," said Craig, who declined further comment.

Police investigators searched the house Sunday afternoon and left carrying a black plastic bag with a long object.

A spokesman for the senator did not respond to telephone calls and emails Sunday.

Smith, D-Detroit, represents the 4th Senate District, from the city's north side, south to Allen Park, Lincoln Park and Southgate. He was re-elected in 2014 to a second four-year term after defeating former state Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Detroit in a hard-fought Democratic primary. He previously served three terms in the Michigan House, following his father, Virgil Smith Jr., into politics.

In 2000, he had an arrest for minor in possession, according to Secretary of State spokesman Fred Woodhams. In February 2004, he had an operating while impaired by liquor offense; in August that year, he faced an operating while intoxicated offense. His license was revoked in 2004, Woodhams said. It was fully reinstated in December 2008.

He currently has no points on his record.

Staff Writers Chad Livengood, Lauren Abdel-Razzaq and Associated Press contributed.