Detroit Man Arrested for Mass Shooting After Argument Turns Deadly

A man arrested in Detroit in connection with a mass shooting that left two people dead and six wounded was convicted on murder charges.

On Wednesday, July 31, Winston Kirtley Jr. was found guilty of first-degree murder on two counts, as well as 10 counts of assault with a firearm and six with intent to murder for the shooting of eight people, two of whom died.

Thirty-nine-year-old Toyake Thirkelid and 38-year-old Andre Willis were killed while six others were hospitalized. The shooting happened on July 31, 2022, around 2:30 AM in Detroit over an argument. Kirtley testified on Tuesday, July 30, and told the judge that an SUV blocked his driveway as he tried to leave his home to go exercise, resulting in an argument.  He claims he asked Thirkelid and Willis, who were in the SUV, to move three times to which he claims Willis only responded by asking him, “What?”

According to Kirtley, Willis drew a pistol and pointed it at him, after which he went back inside his house and grabbed his own gun because he was “scared and confused” and worried about being shot. When he returned, he shot at the SUV because he claimed he felt his “life was in danger.” Kirtley also claimed he heard gunshots across the street before retrieving his weapon and firing a total of 19 times: 16 shots into the SUV where Thirkelid and Willis sat and then three more times at two additional men outside the vehicle.

James Schlaff, Kirtley’s defense attorney, argued in court that when Kirtley saw the gun drawn on him outside of his home, he truly believed he would be harmed.

Assistant Prosecutor James Kehoe responded in his closing arguments that Willis did not have a gun and there was no evidence he did, while also pointing out that one of Kirtley’s bullets hit a neighboring residence before one of the wounded men returned fire. Kehoe also argued that Kirtley “shot at everyone” and the act constituted “a mass shooting.” He said the defendant “meant” to pull the trigger “at least 19 times” to cause maximum harm, and that he “wasn’t threatened” but “provoked.”

Kirtley is scheduled for a sentencing hearing on Wednesday, September 4.