Gunfire broke out on the Southfield Freeway in Detroit Saturday night after a two-vehicle crash, prompting a temporary freeway shutdown while investigators combed the scene for evidence. Michigan State Police troopers responded shortly after 9 p.m. to northbound M-39 near Puritan Avenue for a report of a shooting, and the investigation remains ongoing.
According to MLive.com, police said someone inside the suspect vehicle fired two shots toward the other vehicle after the two cars collided. The suspect vehicle then fled the freeway at McNichols Road, leaving troopers to work the scene without a vehicle in custody.
Police have not said whether anyone was injured in the shooting or what may have led to it, the outlet's report notes. The freeway was temporarily closed while troopers searched the area for evidence, and all lanes have since reopened to traffic.
Pattern of Freeway Gunfire Around Detroit
Saturday's incident is not the only freeway shooting Michigan State Police have investigated in the Detroit area in recent months, though the available evidence does not tie any of these cases together. A shooting on the Southfield Freeway reported in September led to the arrest of a 46-year-old Detroit man, as ClickOnDetroit reported. That case stemmed from an Aug. 25 shooting that forced troopers to shut down the southbound lanes of M-39 from Plymouth Road to Joy Road near I-96 for several hours.
Another freeway shooting, this one on eastbound I-94 near I-96, briefly shut down that stretch of freeway in October. Per the same outlet's reporting, police said a shot fired during an altercation struck another motorist's vehicle and damaged its windows, though no injuries were reported; that area reopened later the same Monday night.
Investigation Still Open
No arrests or suspect details have been released in connection with Saturday's shooting on the Southfield Freeway, and Michigan State Police have not disclosed a motive. The case was reported by Bradley Massman, a crime reporter covering cops and courts for MLive.
