2 dead in Detroit triple shooting, a stolen Mercedes and a wild citizen's arrest, Whitmer's emergency powers

FRIDAY NEWS HIT - Two people are dead and a third is in serious condition after a triple shooting on Detroit's west side.

According to police two men, ages 28 and 31 were found shot dead at a home. The third man, a 26-year-old, had been shot in the leg and abdomen.

Police were called to the home, located on 15000 block of Washburn near Chalfonte Street.

Law enforcement is still determining what motive might have been behind the violence, but sources say they're considering a drug deal gone wrong.

"I was asleep and all of a sudden, it was just the loudest assault rifle sounds and I got up - there were two sets of them. The first was a quick burst, then like 10 shots," said one neighbor. "But they were loud. Real loud."

The 31-year-old was found dead inside the home while the 28-year-old was found shot outside it. 

Police have been investigating the scene since about 3 a.m.

They don't have an identification of the suspect at this time. 

Detroit woman tracks down stolen Mercedes, yields citizen's arrest

Bianca Chambers had little interest in waiting for police to find her stolen Mercedes - not after she had spotted it occasionally after it had been missing for two days. But things got a little easier when the criminal came to her.

Unbeknownst to the thief, he had parked the vehicle near the same boutique where Chambers worked. "At that point, I was like…I’m not letting this man walk again," she said. She walked into a barbershop at Greenfield and Grand River and was face-to-face with the guy she says stole her new Benz and asked him point-blank - is that his Benz? When he denied it, she took him down.

"He’s at 7 Days West, getting his dreds twisted," she said in a Facebook live while watching her car. Customers stepped in to assist with the citizen's arrest. Chambers was worried he might escape again, so she slashed the tires on her Mercedes for good measure.

Detroit police say they responded four times to 911 calls about the car. But each time they arrived, the car was gone. FOX 2 sources said the thief has a history of car thefts since he was a teen. His name has not been released. "You're just the dumbest criminal, that's all. You're joyriding in my car like nobody was going to see," Bianca said.

State close to axing governor's emergency powers

What feels like a relic argument of the pandemic is finally coming to an end after a conservative nonprofit's plans to strip the governor of unlimited emergency powers were approved by the state Senate. 

Unlock Michigan has been campaigning against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and her use of emergency powers during the COVID-19 pandemic, which officials behind the group say gave the executive branch too much authority over people's lives. Whitmer often relied on her emergency powers to implement lockdown orders and mask mandates before the state Supreme Court struck down the 1945-era rule.

Not content with proving the law's unconstitutionality, Unlock Michigan used a ballot initiative to send a law change directly to the legislature. A quirk in Michigan law allows the legislature to consider a bill without the need for a governor's signature - which can only happen via ballot initiative.

Democrats blasted the campaign and argued it would make it harder for the state to protect its citizens, despite the law already being voided. The state House is expected to vote in a similar fashion as the Senate.  

Royal Oak leaders appeal ruling about veteran's memorial decision

The controversy around the city of Royal Oak's decision to move a veteran's memorial 40 feet from its original location has escalated into a legal fight after a judge said the decision to move the memorial will be voted on by the people.

The city has appealed that ruling, which first started as an initiative by veterans upset with the city's decision to move the memorial as part of a redesign at the city's Centennial Park. 

"They do not want voters to get their hands on this issue because voters are smart. They will disagree with the commission," said Chuck Semchena, the attorney for veterans. "Hopefully they get voted out of office also."

Meanwhile, Mayor Mike Fournier disagrees with what the veterans are saying. "True Royal Oakers are excited about opening a new citizen-designed park in the heart of our vibrant downtown- including a more accessible war memorial. Most veterans and citizens I speak with -are growing tired of politically charged lawsuits filed to promote candidates for office. That is not the intent or purpose of our legal system," he said.

Great Lakes Water Authority says it is ready for next round of rain

As Metro Detroit still recovers from massive rainfall and flooding that hit the area three weeks ago, the Great Lakes Water Authority is sending a strong message as the upcoming forecast calls for more heavy rain.

The reassurance comes after local leaders like Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller called for an investigation into operations of the Conner Creek pump station after massive flooding hit areas that included Detroit, Dearborn, and Grosse Pointe.

"As it relates to the Conner Creek pump station, we have repaired the sub priming pump and confirmed the operation of the facility and its readiness," said Navid Mehram, GLWA.

"The part that we are doing different this go-round is the 60 miles per hour winds," he added. "We are anticipating some power disruption and because of that we are increasing our emergency generator supply, just in the event that we have two power feed outages."

What else we're watching

1. Another casualty of the unrelenting flooding is Detroit's Motown Museum. It will be closed for the next few weeks to repair damage ahead of a big expansion in the fall. But the chairwoman wants people to know they can still access the online gift shop.
2. That doesn't mean everyone has to suffer the same fate. While some have experienced damage recently, it's never too late to start shoring up homes for the next big flood event. Here are 6 tips for doing just that. 
3. Two people were shot on Schaefer at Toya's Bar around 3:45 a.m. A 28-year-old is in critical condition while a 24-year-old is in serious condition.
4. The Michigan Secretary of State says voters with August elections should return absentee ballots in person or through a drop box. A release with the info did not mention mailing the ballot. 
5. The Outdoor Adventure Center in Detroit is reopening to the public for the first time on July 16. Admittance will be free between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Live on FOX 2

Daily Forecast

It's going to be a wet Friday with a steady stream of rain growing and getting more severe as the day goes on. There are minor flooding possibilities with chances of rain falling at a rate of an inch per hour. 

WHO says it was 'premature' to rule out lab leak as COVID-19 origin

The head of the World Health Organization acknowledged it was premature to rule out a potential link between the COVID-19 pandemic and a laboratory leak, and he said Thursday he is asking China to be more transparent as scientists search for the origins of the coronavirus.

In a rare departure from his usual deference to powerful member countries, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said getting access to raw data had been a challenge for the international team that traveled to China earlier this year to investigate the source of COVID-19. The first human cases were identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

Tedros told reporters that the U.N. health agency based in Geneva is "asking actually China to be transparent, open and cooperate, especially on the information, raw data that we asked for at the early days of the pandemic."

He said there had been a "premature push" to rule out the theory that the virus might have escaped from a Chinese government lab in Wuhan - undermining WHO's own March report, which concluded that a laboratory leak was "extremely unlikely."