Residents: Detroit police take 2 hours to respond to double fatal shooting

DETROIT (WJBK) - The search is on for a gunman who shot and killed two people on Detroit's west side.

Several people called for help but they say it took police nearly two hours to arrive.

"We failed, clearly we failed in this instance," said Detroit Police Chief James Craig.

Craig is vowing a full investigation into why it took police officers hours to respond to a call of shots fired on Ohio Street Sunday afternoon.

"What we have found is that initial 911 calls that came in, the call came in as shots fired and people seen running," Craig said. "A call like that should have immediately been categorized as a 'priority one' call. That did not happen. Instead like most shots fired call(s), they are handled as a 'two' or a 'three.'

"Once that call was forwarded from the 911 call-taker to the dispatcher, that classification did not change, it stayed a 'three.'"

When police arrived they say two men were found fatally shot in an abandoned home Why they were shot and what led up to their final moments are questions that are being investigated.

But how will a delay in response time impact the findings?

"The fact that there was a delay in response by uniform officers, there was a delay in homicide coming out," Craig said. "The sooner we get out to a scene, the greater likelihood we have of catching those responsible."

As police continue their investigation, those who knew one of the victims found inside this house, came to pay their last respects.

Zhiea Aido says her friend Tay was found inside the house.

"He was good to people always have a smile on his face," said Zhiea Aido.

Police say despite this delay in response time, they remain vigilant about fighting crime and their numbers prove it.

"We're reducing crime," Craig said. "We're still trending downward - 99.96% of the time we get it right. This is one of those instances where it appears we didn't do right by classification."