Two teenagers are dead, and at least two other people were hospitalized after gunfire tore through a short-term rental on Coolidge Highway in Oak Park, Michigan, and now city leaders have hit pause on new rental licenses across the city. The Oak Park City Council approved a six-month moratorium on issuing new short-term-rental licenses on August 17, roughly two weeks after the shooting, halting new approvals while officials rewrite the rules governing properties rented for 30 days or less.
Family members identified the two teens killed as 19-year-old Dashaun Green, an incoming sophomore football player at the University of Olivet, and 18-year-old Teris King, a recent high school graduate who was set to attend Oakland University, according to ClickOnDetroit. The shooting unfolded during a pajama-style birthday celebration inside the home, and the station reports at least 15 teenagers were inside when the gunfire started. Investigators recovered 40 to 50 shell casings along Coolidge Highway; police say uninvited guests had been asked to leave the party before shots were fired into the home from outside. Oak Park public safety officials responded to reports of multiple gunshots at the rental on August 3, and the case remains an active criminal investigation, with the city saying it has not released additional details.
City Council Moves Fast on a Six-Month Freeze
The moratorium, first reported by the Oakland County Times, does not shut down existing short-term rentals already operating in the city. Compliant landlords are still permitted to continue operating under Oak Park's general rental requirements and inspection schedules found in Chapter 18 of the city code, which includes registration, licensing, and inspections every two years or whenever tenancy changes. Oak Park currently has no separate licensing category specifically for short-term rentals and regulates them the same way it does other rental properties, and the city has no precise count of how many short-term rentals are operating within its borders.
City official Brittany Toth said the moratorium will give staff time to review the current system and research professional planning practices, according to the same report. She added that the city is evaluating whether additional short-term-rental regulations are needed for public safety, neighborhood stability, and quality of life. Municipal services and code enforcement staff are now reviewing property records to determine the extent of short-term-rental activity in the city, since Oak Park does not currently use a third-party service to identify unlicensed rentals. Officials are also seeking resident input through an online survey, which residents can complete through October 15, with that feedback expected to help shape the long-term regulatory approach brought back to city council.
A Pattern Emerging Across Oakland County
Oak Park is not the first Oakland County city to freeze rental licenses after gunfire at a party rental this year. Neighboring Hazel Park enacted an immediate six-month moratorium in late May after a fatal shooting during an after-prom party at a VRBO rental on Powell Avenue killed one person and injured another, as reported by CBS News Detroit. That outlet notes the Hazel Park rental was found to be operating in violation of local occupancy limits. Hazel Park police later determined the deceased victim had committed an armed robbery of a watch at gunpoint during the party, prompting a concealed pistol license holder to fire in what investigators described as self-defense, according to C & G Newspapers; the shooter was released pending further investigation.
Birmingham imposed its own 180-day pause on new short-term rental licenses in April after an April 11 drive-by shooting at an Airbnb on East Lincoln Street led to charges against three 18-year-old men, as detailed in Hoodline. That gunfire damaged four neighboring homes and two vehicles, according to FOX 2 Detroit. Ann Arbor also slammed the brakes on new short-term rentals in July with its own six-month freeze, and Detroit saw a teen killed and a woman wounded during a basement birthday ambush at an Airbnb in June, adding to a growing list of party-rental shootings across the region this year.
County Prosecutor's Guidelines and a Tech Gap in Enforcement
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald released a 10-point best-practices guide for short-term rental owners in June, citing two previous local rental shootings that year. Her recommendations, outlined by the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office, include guest identity verification, party and event prohibitions, occupancy limits, exterior security cameras, noise monitoring, local complaint response protocols, reservation screening, and registration and licensing. McDonald said the guidelines provide a framework for municipalities and responsible landlords to keep neighborhoods safe, though her office's recommendations are not legally binding.
Part of the enforcement problem cities face is simply knowing how many short-term rentals exist within their borders. Nearby Royal Oak approved an agreement with Deckard Technologies for short-term-rental engagement and issued a request for proposals for management and compliance software in 2025. GovTech providers like Deckard use algorithms that scan more than 10,000 online rental platforms daily, including Airbnb and VRBO, cross-referencing active listings against municipal property assessment and tax records, per Business Wire. Granicus' Host Compliance offers similar third-party services, though Oak Park has not yet adopted such software itself.
State Lawmakers Weigh Competing Fixes
Lansing is also grappling with how to regulate the industry. Michigan lawmakers introduced House Bills 6026 and 6027 in June, proposing a statewide short-term rental registry under the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs along with a 6% excise tax; the bills remain in the House Committee on Government Operations. That followed earlier legislation introduced in late 2025, House Bills 5138-5140, which would let local municipalities levy an optional 3% excise tax on short-term rentals, subject to voter approval, to help fund infrastructure and police response costs, according to WKAR Public Media.
For now, Oak Park's freeze leaves existing operators in place while the city figures out what comes next. Whether that means a dedicated licensing category, stricter occupancy limits, or new compliance software remains an open question that officials say will be shaped by resident feedback gathered through mid-October.
