9-year-old shot in abandoned building now in stable condition; search for 3 suspects ongoing

FOX 2 (WJBK) - Unanswered questions continue to linger around the double shooting that wounded a 9-year-old boy and 27-year-old woman in a vacant strip mall from Monday afternoon. New video shows the three suspects running down the street after the shooting.

Detroit police say the boy's condition has been upgraded to stable condition from critical and the woman whose connection to the child is unknown remains in stable condition. The boy was wounded in the stomach and woman, who investigators don't believe is connected to him, was shot in the hip.

Surveillance video photos of three suspects -although DPD is calling them "persons of interest" have been released by police from a Greenlight gas station store in the search for answers.

The boy and his father were inside the abandoned business building when three people came in - leading to gunfire. How the woman factors into the encounter are unknown.

"There were three young men that came around the corner, tried to go in, they went inside and they engaged in gunfire," said DPD Assistant Chief Charles FItzgerald.

"Three black males late teens, our shooter is believed to have a distinctive jacket - white or gray camouflage color. Those are the last three we saw in the area so it’s imperative that we talk to them."

Those who live and work in the area say they have concerns about what takes place in the complex.

"It’s always something going on over here," said Earick Vaughn."I drive the Gratiot bus, there's lots of crowds young people, they need to do something about that."

Those who operate businesses in the complex say the vacant unit where the shootings took place has been a source of problems in the past.

"But usually it's up for lease, they come in open social clubs, boutiques, lot of social clubs, a lot of times they are not so popular in the neighborhood," said a nearby store owner.

Now police want to talk to these three men who remain on the run to find out exactly what took place inside the vacant building.

"It used to be a former hookah lounge it was shut down," Fitzgerald said. "We’re looking into it further and will make sure it stays shut down,"

People also say they want to see more police patrolling the area.

"What are your concerns? Safety and how to keep my  customers safe and how to make the area safer," said the store owner.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Detroit Police Department’s 9th Precinct Detective Unit at 313-596-5940 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.