At 5:47 PM Wednesday, Detroit police responded to a 9-1-1 call reporting that shots had been fired at Al’s Place Barbershop. Two minutes later, at 5:49 PM, police arrived on the scene of “one of Detroit’s more violent incidents,” according to Detroit Police Chief James Craig.

Ten people total were shot in the incident, with two men dying at the scene and one dying after being transported to a local hospital. As it currently stands, authorities do not know the motivation for the shooting: “We’re not sure if this was over a bad debt. We have no idea.We know it’s a barbershop and gambling has occurred in this location,” reported Craig.

Considering the case is currently under investigation, all details surrounding the investigation cannot be released. However, police have essentially reconstructed the events which transpired through eye-witness accounts. Police suspect that three vehicles approached the barbershop before the deathly shooting – 2 Chevy Impalas and a third, unknown car. A passenger in one of the Impalas exited the car and fired at the unknown vehicle. At some point during this exchange, the back door to the barbershop was opened and shots entered the building, wounding 7 and killing three. At the time of the shooting, many people were in the backroom of the barbershop gambling.

“This was a violent act — basically what I’m calling urban terrorism,” stated Craig.

Police have arrested one person of interest so far. The man, who was wearing body armor, was arrested in Rochester on a different felonious charge: “It’s unusual and tends to suggest things. Police officers wear body armor. Why a community member would, raises a number of questions,” opined Craig. Police are currently trying to determine if more than one gunman was involved.

To date, there have been 289 reported deaths due to homicide in Detroit. This total is down 6% from this point in time last year, when 331 deaths had resulted from violent action. Because of the success of the city of Detroit to quell violence, Craig is confident in police attempts to solve this case: “You know, I have been talking about the fact that we’ve been driving down violent crime and I’m optimistic we are going to find these violent predators and bring them into custody.”

[Image via Google Maps]