Charges filed in Detroit banquet hall shooting that left one dead, five wounded

A Detroit man has been charged in connection with the shooting at a Detroit banquet hall earlier this week that wounded five people and killed a 30-year-old man.

Samuel Spencer Tipton, 30, is charged with one count of first-degree murder, five counts of assault with intent to murder, one count of felon in possession and seven counts of felony firearm, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. He is expected to be arraigned Saturday. 

Lorenzo Gains, 30, was killed and those wounded included a 26-year-old woman, a 34-year-old woman, a 43-year-old woman, a 43-year-old man and a 46-year-old man, all residents of Detroit. Their names were not released.

The shooting occurred around 2 a.m. Tuesday outside the Chalmers Banquet Hall in the 9800 block of Chalmers Street on the city's east side. When police officers arrived, they found Gains shot in the chest. The other victims were transported to a hospital where they were treated.

Police say Tipton fired a handgun fatally striking Gains, who reportedly was an innocent bystander, and shot the others before fleeing the scene. One or more members of the crowd fired back, striking the suspect, who drove to nearby Beaumont Hospital Grosse Pointe, about five miles south, police said earlier this week.

Tipton was arrested Tuesday, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office.

No other details were released Friday on the incident.

“This case is representative of the escalating violence that is pummeling our region and America’s most populous cities. It is way too easy to try and settle any perceived issues with firearms,” said Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy in a statement Friday. “It is no longer true to say that children are the ones that cannot control their tempers, emotions, and disputes. Adults have zoomed to the top of that list.”

The Chalmers Banquet Hall hasn’t been licensed since 2013, interim Detroit Police Chief James White said Tuesday, adding that city officials would shut the club down later Tuesday.

In March 2015, six people were shot, one fatally, in an incident at the facility. Two men were convicted in connection with the shooting, which police said was random.

The banquet hall did not appear to have a phone number publicly listed. 

White said if the business reopens, it will have to provide security and also notify Detroit police when it is holding events that involve large crowds.

bwilliams@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @oralandar_dn