Police said a fight at a west side location escalated into gunfire early Sunday, leaving seven people shot.
DETROIT, MI — Three men were killed and four other people were injured early Sunday when a fight escalated into gunfire at an after-hours location on Detroit’s west side, police said.
Detroit police were alerted shortly after 7:20 a.m. Sept. 27 to the shooting near Prest Street and Eaton Avenue. Police Chief Todd Bettison said officers received a ShotSpotter notification followed by a 911 call and reached the scene within about four minutes. Officers found three men with fatal gunshot wounds. Four other people — two men and two women — were taken to hospitals in private vehicles with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.
Investigators believe an altercation preceded the shooting. Bettison said people involved in the dispute turned to gunfire, although police were still working to determine the full sequence of events and identify everyone responsible. Authorities said they had developed leads in the investigation and did not believe there was an ongoing threat to the surrounding neighborhood. No arrests had been publicly announced in the initial reports.
The shooting occurred at a property police described as an after-hours location. Bettison told reporters that activity there was similar to what might be found at a strip club. The chief said the address was already known to the Detroit Police Department. Police had received seven calls for service at the property since the beginning of 2026, and Bettison said the department also had an investigation involving the address. Officials did not immediately provide further details about that inquiry.
The three people killed were men believed to be at least about 30 years old, according to police. Authorities initially did not publicly release their identities. WXYZ later reported that relatives identified one of the men as 45-year-old Ansley Harris Jr. Police had not publicly confirmed all three victims’ identities in the reports available Monday. The four surviving victims included two men and two women in their 20s and 30s, according to local reports.
Community violence intervention leaders said they had received information indicating the dispute may have involved a cellphone, but police had not publicly established that as the definitive cause of the shooting. Teferi Brent, senior director of the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood and Community Safety, referred to reports of a cellphone dispute while discussing the violence. Investigators continued interviewing people and gathering evidence to establish what happened before shots were fired.
Neighbors also described activity around the property before the shooting. One resident, identified by WXYZ only as Alex because of concerns about retaliation, said there had been loud activity, numerous vehicles and fighting in the area during the preceding days. The resident said neighbors had contacted authorities about problems at the location. Those observations provided additional context about the property but did not establish who was responsible for Sunday’s shooting.
Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield joined Bettison and other officials after the shooting and said the city would continue efforts against illegal after-hours operations in residences and businesses. She also said city services would support the families and neighborhood affected by the violence. Community violence intervention groups responded after the shooting as investigators worked at the scene.
Police said the investigation remained active and that detectives were pursuing multiple leads. Authorities had not publicly identified a suspect or announced an arrest as of the latest reports. Investigators were continuing to determine who fired the shots and the circumstances that turned the fight into deadly violence.
Author note: Last updated September 28, 2026.