— It’s touted as a place where art and music “collide for one spectacular event.”
But on Saturday, the festivities of the 45th Noel Night were marred by the sounds of gunshots as a crowd, including children, joined the activities.
The shooting led police to shut down the popular attraction that draws tens of thousands and fills Midtown with performers and families. Participating venues, like the Detroit Institute of Arts, were emptied.
On Sunday morning, hours after the gunfire, several people near the scene said the shooting wouldn’t alter their plans to visit the city.
Others on Twitter called for calm and seemed inured to the inevitability of shootings or other incidents in crowded places these days.
“This kind of (incident), you can’t let fear stop you,” said Alan Manjarrez, 25, of Lapeer, who was with his girlfriend, Shawna Walker, hoping to visit the Detroit Institute of Arts, near where the shooting occurred the night before.
“It’s not like Las Vegas,” Manjarrez said of the mass shooting that targeted random victims.
Sue Mosey of Midtown Detroit Inc., the organizer of Noel Night, said Sunday “We have not made any decision at this time about future Noel Nights,” adding that it would be a decision for the board.
Detroit Chamber Of Commerce officials did not respond to a phone call. A city representative also did not respond a call to ask about security at downtown venues.
News of the shooting quickly spread on social media.
“Don’t let one incident scare you off,” tweeted one Metro Detroiter after the gunfire was reported.
Other tweeted: “Hey: people didn’t say “this is why I don’t go to Las Vegas” when 50 people were killed. So please don’t say that about Detroit.”
The shooting shut down the event about half-way into the 45th Noel Night.
At about 7:30 p.m., police said they received reports of gunfire and they moved quickly to close off surrounding streets, end the activities and empty participating sites.
“We had just left the DIA going towards the Historical Museum when people began running from behind us to the grass area,” said Farah Hammoud. “I saw a…
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