Police have investigated nearly 700 violent crimes at Detroit gas stations during the past year, prompting city officials and citizen patrol groups to try to quell the steady beat of murders, carjackings, shootings and armed robberies, George Hunter reports in the Detroit News.
Gas stations in Detroit have long been breeding grounds for crime; some residents feel they’re risking their lives patronizing what often are the only viable neighborhood businesses, while many suburbanites refuse to fuel up in the city.
Police Chief James Craig says gas station violence has gotten out of hand.
“It’s something I’ve not seen as frequently in other cities: In Detroit, gas stations are magnets for criminal activity,” Craig said. “We’ve seen far too many shootings, carjackings and other criminal activity.”
While some observers attribute the gas-station violence to the city's lack of police officers, Craig told Hunter gas station owners often are complacent when it comes to crime.
“In a lot of cases, the owners have allowed people to loiter on their property, and look the other way when people are dealing drugs, committing robberies,” Craig said.
