Detroit house burns months after drive-by shooting that wounded 2 children
DETROIT (FOX 2) - A Detroit house that has been boarded up after a drive-by shooting over the summer caught fire early Tuesday.
The backstory:
On July 31, an 8-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl were shot while sleeping inside the home on Arcola near Van Dyke. Neighbor Helen Starks said that the house was boarded up after the shooting, and said things in her neighborhood have been peaceful since then.
However, that changed Tuesday morning when Starks said she saw the house on fire.
According to Starks, she saw two big flashes of light. She then saw smoke and realized the house was on fire, so she called 911. While reporting the fire, she started hearing explosions and rushed to alert neighbors, she said.
"By this time, the house was really in flames," she said. "It was burning, it was like mini explosions."
It is unclear how the fire started, or if there is any connection to the crime that happened there over the summer.
Local perspective:
With the boarded-up home now burned, Starks said she is concerned for the safety of children who live in the neighborhood.
"It's open now. It's vacant, it's open, it's burnt up," Starks said. "No one should have to look at that."
Starks said children live in the area, and there is a bus stop nearby.
"That's a real concern," she said. "The safety of this is a real concern."
The Source: Previous FOX 2 reporting and an interview with a neighbor were used.