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Police investigating after shots fired at house party in Royal Oak

Posted at 10:17 AM, Feb 17, 2020
and last updated 2020-02-18 05:25:06-05

ROYAL OAK, Mich. (WXYZ) — Royal Oak police are investigating after shots were reportedly fired in the area of Pingree and Virginia, off of Main Street and 11 Mile.

On Saturday, police said they received numerous 911 calls reporting multiple gunshots in the area.

"Whenever you see any kind of firearm violence it’s concerning," said Dwight Raymond who lives across the street from where the shooting happened.

Officers responded and conducted traffic stops on several cars leaving the area. One driver, a 20-year-old Clinton Township resident, was found to be intoxicated and in possession of a stolen firearm, police said.

Police discovered the incident stemmed from a large party at a home that was rented by Airbnb on the 400 block of Pingree. Police said the planned party was posted on social media.

"Anytime there’s some sort of violence, especially aggressive violence... it’s concerning," Ryamond said.

Some neighbors didn’t want to talk on camera but say they’re concerned about the violence, especially in such a quiet neighborhood. The tell 7 Action News they had no idea the home was being used as an AirBnB.

"You have all these people that you don’t know, not that they’re bad people, but you don’t know what’s going to set this person off from this person," Raymond said.

More than 20 people were in the home when officers arrived, but no one would cooperate with officers, police said.

"Unauthorized parties represent a serious breach of trust, and we are outraged at the reported violence," said Airbnb spokesman Ben Breit in a statement to WXYZ. "We have banned the booking guest from our platform and are providing support to our host. We also stand ready to support Royal Oak PD in their investigation."

Additionally, Airbnb states that the party was unauthorized, which means the host of the home did not consent to a party and in the host's House Rules, it prohibits all parties and events.

No victims have been identified, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Royal Oak PD at 248-246-3456.

Airbnb offers a 24/7 neighborhood support line for neighbors and community members to report issues in real-time. That line is available here.