DETROIT – More than a dozen shots were fired into a crowd on Monday outside Ascension St. John Hospital on Moross Road, officials say.
Police say the shooting that occurred at the hospital Monday afternoon is connected to another shooting that happened on I-94 shortly before.
The Michigan State Police’s investigation seems to indicate that a freeway shooting on I-94 brought an injured individual to the Detroit hospital on Monday. A few minutes later, the shooter arrived at the hospital -- possibly to finish the job.
The wild and dangerous encounter began when shots were fired between two, possibly three, vehicles at about 5:45 p.m. Monday on I-94.
Detroit police say a black Chevy Equinox and white Chevy Impala met up in the hospital’s parking garage before emerging moments later. Someone in the back of the Equinox reportedly fired several shots with police in the vicinity, and then drove off.
“You would never expect this at the hospital,” said witness Kiefert Watson.
Among the patients in the E.R. were four young people from Detroit Public TV who were taken to the hospital by ambulance after having their own accident with a truck along I-94.
“We saw a guy drive up, and he sticks his hand outside of the window and fired about 15-20 shots, and by then we were on laying on the ground, and we could hear them hitting the glass,” said a witness. “And I guess St. John spent some money on glass because they didn’t go through.”
The glass at the hospital is bulletproof, so none of the bullets got through, officials said. One person was shot in the ankle during the shooting.
A red Dodge Charger was hauled away from the hospital by police, which officials believed belonged to one of the victims. Both men that were shot Monday are believed to be in stable condition.
The hospital issued a statement saying that patient care was uninterrupted. However, several patients were turned away from the hospital.
Police are still searching for the shooters.