DETROIT – A man is facing a federal charge for allegedly shooting at a home on Detroit’s east side.
The shooting happened on Oct. 19 at a home on Kenmoor Street.
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According to federal investigators, there was a ShotSpotter activation alert near the home at around 9:13 a.m., which detected four shots being fired.
Officers responded to the scene and found two shell casings near the home. A witness told police at the scene that there was a verbal fight followed by several shots being fired.
Surveillance footage
Police reviewed surveillance footage in the area on the morning of the shooting and found that a Cadillac sedan was heading east on Kenmoor at around 9:12 a.m. and stopped in front of the home.
A man wearing a black shirt with black pants and black shoes, who police believe to be Desmond Atkins, 33, exited the driver’s door of the Cadillac and stood next to the car.
At the same time, a woman wearing a pink shirt got out of the passenger door and walked towards the home. The woman was then seen getting into a black sedan parked next to the home and driving away.
As the woman was driving away, a man appeared in the side doorway of the home and yelled, “You a h-!”
Atkins then allegedly fired two shots from a handgun towards the home. The man standing in the doorway ducked back inside the home.
Atkins was then seen in the footage going back into the Cadillac and starting to drive away. The man in the home then continued to yell, “You a h-!” before two more shots were fired from the car that was directed at the home.
Atkins then went back in the Cadillac and started to drive away. The man in the home continued to yell, “You a h-!” before two more gunshots were fired in the direction of the home.
Immediately after, surveillance footage caught the man in the home yelling, “I’ll f--- you up!”
Four shots were heard in the surveillance footage, and police recovered two shell casings from the scene, leading investigators to believe the other two casings are in the car since shots were fired from inside the Cadillac.
Authorities searched the City of Detroit Project Green Light camera for Oct. 19 at a gas station in the area of McNichols Road in Detroit. Officers saw the same Cadillac enter the Sunoco gas station at around 9:06 a.m.
Surveillance footage showed Atkins going in and out of the Cadillac, wearing the same clothes seen in the surveillance footage of the shooting. A woman was also seen entering and exiting the car.
At around 9:12 a.m., surveillance footage showed the Cadillac leaving the gas station, heading south on Gunston Avenue towards Kenmoor, where the shooting happened.
Police ran the license plate on the Cadillac and learned the car belonged to Atkins.
Investigators learned that Atkins is a convicted felon.
Phone tracked at Kenmoor home, used for parole
On Oct. 22, federal authorities contacted the Michigan Department of Corrections, where they learned a phone number associated with Atkins was used to communicate with an inmate in May 2025.
Atkins also provided the same phone number to his parole agents. He was discharged from parole in June 2024. Per Department of Corrections records, Atkins communicated with an inmate as recently as June 2025.
On Oct. 24, 2025, federal investigators obtained a search warrant for real-time and historical location data associated with Atkins’ phone.
After further investigation, federal authorities found that Atkins’ phone was in the vicinity of the home on Kenmoor on Oct. 19 when the shooting happened.
Previous conviction
Federal investigators said Atkins has a criminal history. He is currently on felony probation, and under the conditions of the probation, he cannot have any guns or ammunition in his possession.
According to court records, he was convicted in 2014 for carjacking and felony firearm.
He was discharged from the Michigan Department of Corrections in 2023 for breaking and entering.
Federal charge
On Oct. 23, ATF special agents found that the ammunition recovered from the shooting scene was manufactured outside Michigan.
Atkins faces a federal charge of being a felon in possession of ammunition.