Police Chief Decries 'Urban Terrorists' After Bloody Start to Summer

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Detroit Police Chief James Craig said residents need to step forward and name individuals he called “urban terrorists” who shot and killed one person and injured 11 more in what has been characterized as a retaliation shooting Saturday.

“You will allow this to continue if you do nothing,” Craig said, according to a report in the Detroit Free Press. “We can’t do it alone. We’re angry, as I know many who live in this neighborhood are angry, but this is not the time to be fearful.”

Craig made his remarks at the blood-stained basketball court at Dexter and Webb, where the shooting took place, The Detroit News reported. The shooting was one of 24 over the weekend, making the first weekend of summer one of the most violent and bloody of the year, Craig said.

In the Dexter and Webb shooting, police are looking for two men, both of whom were armed. One carried a silver handgun with an extended clip. About 47 shots were fired in the melee, which took place in one of Detroit’s toughest neighborhoods.

About 300 people had gathered for a basketball game and cookout Saturday afternoon. Those shot ranged in age from 19 to 47, and included four women and and eight men.

Malik Jones, 19, who was fatally shot, is believed to have been shot in a gunfight about a month ago.

Craig called the shooters “cowardly thugs,” and said the west side “neighborhood is not talking” about the identity of the suspects.

“We’re making a passionate plea to the community to talk. They need to respond,” Craig said, according to a report in The Detroit News. “They’re fed up and we’re fed up.”

At a news conference Monday afternoon, Craig said his department would be deploying extra officers to the 57th annual Ford Fireworks Monday night. In general, carjackings, robberies and non-fatal shootings are down, the chief said, but “we still have work to do.”

“We shouldn’t have to deal with the issue of young people bringing guns into downtown or any other place in the city,” he said.

Earlier Monday, the leader of the National Action Network of Michigan criticized Craig for making the “urban terrorists” remark.

“The folks in the community are not urban terrorists,” said the Rev. Charles Williams said. “The young people are killing because they don’t have options. They haven’t been educated. It should not be easier to get a gun than it is to get a job in the city of Detroit.”

Craig defended the characterization and said many of those interviewed after Saturday’s shooting at the basketball game said that firing on a group of people with children is a form of terrorism.

The neighborhood where the shooting occurred is marked by many vacant houses, and its streetlights remain dark, Councilman Gabe Leland, who represents the 7th District, told the Free Press. With more city resources, he said, the neighborhood can bounce back, as has one just a few blocks away, where houses sold by the Detroit Land Bank Authority are occupied and have neatly trimmed yards and well-kept facades.

He advocates more city resources to encourage those outside of Detroit to invest in neighborhoods. Saturday’s shooting should alter investors’ perception of neighborhood safety, Leland said.

“These are people who are comfortable coming out and enjoying the weather and the outdoor,” Leland said of the group that gathered Saturday. “This was a random act. Yes, it was surprising. This neighborhood is going to bounce back. It’s going to take the investment of people to bring some density to the area.”

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