Last night, a shooting in Dearborn's Benihana parking lot resulted in injuries for two individuals. The incident took place near Fairlane Town Center on Hubbard Drive, as reported by The Detroit News. Police responded to the scene before 9 p.m., where they found two people with non-life-threatening injuries. According to Dearborn police Cpl. Dan Bartok, no suspects were in custody following the incident, which is being described as a possible shootout between parties.
Further details revealed that at least 20 bullet casings were marked on the scene by police, and a white GMC Acadia SUV bore several bullet holes on the driver's side. Despite the restaurant’s closing time of 10 p.m., some diners remained inside as police continued their investigation, noted by The Detroit News reporting that police were still present at 10:30 p.m.
The injured parties were taken to a local hospital and are reportedly stable after being shot in the legs. The attack is believed to have been targeted, with robbery not considered a motive, stated ClickOnDetroit. Dearborn Police Chief Issa Shahin expressed his concerns about the prevalence of such violence, saying, "Nationally, you have more guns in this country than people, and unfortunately, we’ve seen a lot of violence across the country." He continued, highlighting the juxtaposition of celebration and violence: "You got an active restaurant, and families are celebrating birthdays and graduations and stuff inside a restaurant, and you have this type of violence outside in the parking lot, and it’s entirely unacceptable."
Amidst the chaos, the University of Michigan-Dearborn, located a short distance from the scene, issued an emergency alert advising students to avoid the area. As stated by FOX 2 Detroit, Chief Shahin assured there was no current threat to the community, despite the fleeing suspect. While police sought to collect evidence and assess the violent tableau spread across the tarmac, diners inside Benihana carried on with their evening, seemingly detached from the turmoil outside.
