Police charge Detroit man in fatal shooting of Erie man, wounding of city woman Tuesday

Erie police have filed homicide charges against a Detroit man in the fatal shooting of a 35-year-old man and the wounding of a 31-year-old woman during a confrontation in a west Erie neighborhood early Tuesday morning.

Melvin D. Burnett Jr., 34, was arraigned Tuesday afternoon by Erie 1st Ward District Judge Sue Mack on charges including criminal homicide, first-degree murder, attempted homicide and aggravated assault in the shooting, which was reported on Tuesday at 1:49 a.m. in the 700 block of West Fourth Street.

Erie police accuse Burnett of fatally shooting a 35-year-old Erie man and wounding a 31-year-old woman in the confrontation.

A possible motive in the shooting was not revealed by Erie police or mentioned in the criminal complaint that detectives filed against Burnett.

An autopsy was scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday on the 35-year-old man who was fatally shot. Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook said the victim's name would not be released until the autopsy is completed.

Cook said he pronounced the man dead at the scene at 2:55 a.m. Tuesday.

According to Erie police, officers were sent to the 700 block of West Fourth after the city police bureau's ShotSpotter gunshot detection system alerted them to possible gunfire, and callers to 911 reported hearing gunshots, Deputy Chief Rick Lorah said.

What police found when they arrived

Officers arrived on scene to find the 35-year-old male victim deceased, with gunshot wounds to his head and body. Police also located a 31-year-old female, whose name also has not been released, who had several gunshot wounds to her legs and lower abdomen, Lorah said.

The woman identified the shooter as Melvin Burnett, and said Burnett had shot her and her nephew, according to information in the criminal complaint.

The woman was taken to UPMC Hamot, where investigators were able to speak to her, according to Lorah. Information on the woman's condition was not available Tuesday.

Officers who responded to the scene found a person matching the shooting suspect's description and took him into custody after a brief foot chase, detectives wrote in the complaint. Burnett was taken into police custody at 2:01 a.m. Tuesday in the 400 block of Poplar Street, according to city police arrest records.

Police set up a crime scene, and in searching the area officers recovered 12 spent 9 mm shell casings and two projectiles. A Glock 9 mm semiautomatic pistol was also recovered by officers who checked the area where Burnett fled, detectives wrote in the complaint's affidavit of probable cause.

Police also reviewed surveillance video from the area that detectives said corroborated the female victim's statement about what happened. The video showed Burnett brandishing a firearm and discharging multiple rounds that struck the two victims, according to information in the affidavit.

Burnett was placed in the Erie County Prison without bond following his arraignment Tuesday afternoon.

Other gun incidents: Erie police investigating after 17-year-old said someone in passing car shot him in foot

First gun fatality in Erie since December

The shooting occurred during what has been a quiet start to 2024 in terms of gun violence in Erie. It is the first fatal shooting since an 18-year-old man was shot in his Lighthouse Street residence on Dec. 13. Including the two victims in Tuesday morning's shooting, Erie police know of only three people who have been shot since the Dec. 13 fatal shooting.

This is a developing story. Return to GoErie.com for updates.

Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNhahn

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Detroit man charged in man's fatal shooting, wounding of woman in Erie