http://www.detnews.com/2004/metro/04...a01-193909.htm
DETROIT — The festival atmosphere downtown turned tragic Wednesday night when a gunman opened fire in the crowd near Hart Plaza, wounding eight people, three of them critically, police said.
The shooting took place near the entrance of Hart Plaza, in the shadow of the giant fist honoring boxer Joe Louis, just minutes after the 46th annual Marshall Field’s fireworks show ended about 10:30 p.m.
As the crowd was leaving the area, the gunman was jostled and fell to the ground, police said. He pulled out a gun and began firing at the people he thought pushed him, investigators said. He then dropped the gun and ran.
“At first we thought (the sound of gunfire) was the fireworks,” said witness Shawn Idowu, 22, of Detroit. “But then you could see the flashes coming from the gun, and everybody just started running.”
The large crowds prevented the Emergency Medical Service from reaching the wounded.
“They were taken to (Detroit Receiving Hospital) by police cars, because EMS trucks were having difficulty getting through the crowd,” Detroit Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings said. “At this point, there have been no fatalities.”
Police were able to determine the identity of the 34-year-old shooter after interviewing a 15-year-old male who was with him. The teen remained in custody for questioning Wednesday night. Investigators did not release the suspect’s name.
Police identified the victims as Brandon Patterson, Bevan Bryant, Donald Murray, Laurie Foster and Andrea Malone, all in stable condition; and Sheri Ridley and Aaron Edumends, both in critical condition.
An eighth unidentified victim was in critical condition.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, four people were arrested for disorderly conduct during a large fight involving about 200 people after the fireworks, police said. The brawl broke out around 10:30 p.m. at Congress and Woodward Avenue. Police say they don’t know what caused the fight.
Wednesday’s violence came just a week after a peaceful celebration of the Detroit Pistons’ National Basketball Association Championship — and while officials from the National Football League were in town to observe the city as part of its planning for Super Bowl XL. The Super Bowl will be played at Ford Field in 2006.
The shooting also harkened back to a 1991 incident at the fireworks, when Metro Detroit television stations broadcast the videotaped beating of Joanne Was, a 42-year-old Farmington Hills woman.
Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick declined comment Wednesday night, but Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel said the shooting hurt the city’s image.
“My heart goes out to the victims of the shooting,” Cockrel said. “It’s unfortunate for the city’s reputation. There are hundreds of thousands of people who came from across the region to enjoy a summertime ritual.
“I can only hope the police department can apprehend the perpetrator and that individual be brought to justice. The consequences for the city and its reputation are unfortunate.”
Bully-Cummings said most people were enjoying themselves and did not know about the shooting.
The shooting occurred shortly after an estimated 1 million people cheered the fireworks along the riverfront from jammed Belle Isle to the Ambassador Bridge — including the Price family from Westland.
Jonelle Price held her 3-year-old son, Ross, while her husband, Ricardo, held 6-year-old Ryan in his lap.
“The boys seem to be enjoying the fireworks, so we’ll bring the kids next year, too,” Jonelle Price said.
Kitty Clark of New Baltimore, a 20-year veteran of the fireworks, reluctantly shared her secret to getting a prime spot for the fireworks at Hart Plaza.
Get there early. Like 10 hours before the event.
“We’ve been here since noon today,” said Clark, 50, enjoying her view of the Detroit River from a grassy spot under a blue and white beach umbrella Wednesday.
“Over the years, we’ve watched them from Belle Isle and other spots along the river, but this is the best place. And it’s worth it to get here a few hours early before it fills up.
“I mean, we get up at 5 a.m. every year for the Thanksgiving parade. What’s a few hours wait for the best fireworks in the world?”
From Belle Isle to the Ambassador Bridge, thousands of fireworks fans agreed with Clark’s assessment. While many attended private parties in some of the city’s tallest riverfront buildings, most headed to Hart Plaza, which traditionalists consider the best vantage point for the show.
Many families could be seen carting tents, umbrellas, beach chairs and dragging coolers and wagons to their favorite spot throughout the day.
While many headed straight for the riverfront, the Quince and Gillespie families preferred a shaded spot near East Jefferson between the UAW-Ford National Program Center building and Cobo Center.
“We’ve been meeting here for the fireworks at this spot for over 10 years,” said Cynthia Quince, a pharmacist from Detroit. “We got here at 3 p.m. today just to stake it out.”
Nearby, the family had a dozen chairs unfolded and ready for other family members to arrive. Several children, Ameerah Gillespie, 17, Christine Quince, 13, and a friend, Jonathan Street, 18, listened to a radio and enjoyed chips and dip. As any fireworks attendee will testify, setting up camp and waiting for the first boom to shake the ground means working up an appetite.
And the Quince-Gillespie coolers were stuffed with the essentials: hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken, fruit, pop and bottled water.
Cynthia Quince’s brother, Al Gillespie, 48, also of Detroit, was loading up a small grill for hungry relatives who were expected to drop by at any time from their jobs.
Among Gillespie’s favorite fireworks memories was attending the Detroit event the year after the September 11 tragedy.
“I was in the Army, and when they did the (military) flyover and I looked around and saw everyone around me, all celebrating our country and Independence Day together, it got to me,” he said.
“No matter where we live, who we are or what we do, we all come together as one city and celebrate this country for a few hours.”