DETROIT—A man suspected in a drive-by shooting that left one dead and five others wounded at an unlicensed Detroit banquet hall has been arrested at a hospital where he was attempting to get treatment for a gunshot wound, police said Wednesday.
Staff at the suburban hospital a few miles from the Chalmers Banquet Hall contacted police after the 30-year-old checked in Tuesday, Detroit 2nd Deputy Police Chief Rudy Harper said.
He was arrested not long after interim Detroit Police Chief James White told reporters Tuesday afternoon they had identified a suspect who opened fire at about 2 a.m. from a vehicle at people outside the banquet hall on the city’s east side.
At least one person outside the building returned fire at the vehicle. The building’s exterior was riddled with bullet holes and numerous shell casings were found outside the banquet hall.
A man in a wheelchair was killed. Two other men and three women suffered wounds that were not considered life-threatening, police said.
More than 100 people were gathered for an event at the banquet hall at the time of the shooting.
“Preliminary evidence suggests that this was an exchange of gunfire from people both at the location as well as the perpetrator who shot into the location,” White told reporters Tuesday. “This was some type of conflict between the two parties involved. This was not a random shooting.”
White said investigators learned the building and banquet hall have not been licensed to operate since 2013 and would seek to have the city shut the business down.
