Here at 7 News Detroit, we want to make sure you start your day off on the right foot, informed about weather, traffic, the latest news and more. That's why we have the 7 Morning Digest, where we'll get you out the door informed and ready to go.
What's the weather for today?
The heatwave across Metro Detroit is now replaced with periods of storms in the coming days. The chance for isolated severe storms will return today, mainly in the afternoon or evening. Temps will begin to creep back up to 90° on Friday with highs in the upper 80s to near 90° this weekend, as well.
Today: Seasonable temps, but still muggy with scattered showers and storms, isolated severe possible mainly near and south of Detroit. Highs near 81°. Winds: NE 5-10 mph.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy, warm and muggy with rain/storm chances after 5 AM. Temps in the upper 60s. Winds: Light
Thursday: Partly sunny, scattered showers and storms. Temps in the mid 80s. Winds: SW 5 -10 mph.
The top stories to know about
Churches increase security training after CrossPointe shooting incident
Days before a gunman showed up at CrossPointe Community Church in Wayne, members of that church and its volunteer security team were learning how to protect their house of worship.
"If it isn't the norm for your church, it's probably the time to start thinking about it," said Matt Balla from Peacemakers Gun Range in Howell.
Churches across Michigan are taking security training seriously, from foundational gun handling abilities to more advanced skills.
"Working our way up from just a basic holster draw to what if there's multiple targets, multiple threats," Brad McClements, training coordinator at Peacemakers, said.
Balla says the CrossPointe Community Church safety team is among dozens of churches throughout Michigan that train at his facility each year. The team completed a class on protecting houses of worship offered by the United States Concealed Carry Association just days before Brian Browning tried to carry out a mass shooting at the church.
"This past weekend was prime evidence that concerned citizens who have taken the time to empower themselves through training, through awareness and were ready to act and did so decisively and undoubtedly saved countless lives," said John “Rob” Chadwick, head of public and private safety for USCCA and former FBI agent.
"We are offering this kind of training literally every day in every corner of the United States. Hundreds of free training classes, everything from protecting houses of worship to emergency first aid fundamentals, to situational awareness," Chadwick said.
Much of the training focuses heavily on what to do and what to look for long before a firearm is ever involved.
Dearborn considers banning short-term rentals like Airbnb, VRBO in residential parts of city
The city of Dearborn is considering banning short-term rentals, like Airbnbs, inside residential parts of the city and is looking to add more zoning and code requirements.
Dearborn attracts people from all over for businesses, conferences and events who sometimes stay at these properties. However, some city leaders say where these short-term rentals can operate needs to be tightened up.
Nothing has been voted on yet and nothing has been approved. However, Tuesday night was an opportunity for city leaders to lay out something they say has been an issue for years.
"The concern we’ve always had is that these short-term rentals — many, not all — have been out of control with tenants that are coming in on a short-term basis," Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud said.
At the study session with Dearborn city leaders Tuesday, the proposed zoning and code ordinances were discussed in full.
“It is the recommendation to not allow short-term rentals in our single-family residential neighborhoods and instead allow them in the east and the west downtowns," Dearborn Planning and Zoning Manager Kaileigh Blanchini said.
City leaders went over why these decisions are being considered.
“They are to ensure residential neighborhoods remain residential in nature and not for commercial uses, such as short-term rentals, to help reduce nuisance-related issues," Dearborn deputy corporation counsel Bradley Mendelsohn said.
The main concerns? Noise and how these residences affect housing in the area.
Airbnb host Samir Alley says all three of his properties operate outside the downtown areas and he would have to stop his operations if the ordinances are approved. He adds that his properties do not cause any problems and says a few bad apples shouldn't determine such broad changes.
Ex-Detroit cop, jailed over theft, now accused of stealing from Detroit Fire Dept.
A former Detroit police officer who spent time in jail over allegations he stole reward money is now accused of payroll fraud during his time as a Detroit fire lieutenant.
Steve Perry resigned in April following allegations that he collected overtime for EMS shifts he never worked.
Perry, who has not been charged with any crimes stemming from the most recent allegations, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Back in 2010, while Perry was a Detroit police officer assigned to investigate auto thefts, he was accused of submitting 14 anonymous tips about stolen vehicles, then having the reward money deposited into his own bank account.
Over the course of 18 months, Perry was accused of collecting $26,998 in tip rewards.
He would be charged with five felonies, later pleading no contest to a misdemeanor and sentenced to 32 days in jail.
Now, Detroit’s own fire commissioner wonders how Perry was given a second chance by the same city that already accused him of theft.
“Why is he on our department?” Detroit Fire Commissioner Chuck Simms asked Channel 7’s Ross Jones. “A person who had a history of that, to be honest, is not welcome on the Detroit Fire Department.”
Charges, then a second chance
If Perry's career looked finished after his jail sentence, it appeared to be flourishing less than two years ago.
On a night in November 2023, along with other firefighters and police, Perry was honored at the city’s “Above and Beyond Awards” in 2023 for saving a life.
As the mayor and other dignitaries looked on, Perry was celebrated for his role in rescuing a driver whose vehicle collided with a tree and caught fire.
Perry, working as a fire marshal, witnessed the accident and pulled the driver out of the burning vehicle, rendering aid until EMS and other firefighters arrived.
“Thanks to Lieutenant Perry’s quick actions and bravery, the trapped driver was rescued before the fire continued to spread,” said an announcement from the Detroit Public Safety Foundation.
But the department isn’t celebrating Perry today.
DFD says it discovered Perry’s alleged fraud after a payroll administrator was hired to audit the department’s overtime and look for efficiencies.
The administrator noticed some irregularities with Perry’s overtime that, at first, were believed to be limited to just one pay period, the department says.
That prompted Perry to write a memo saying he’d exercised “poor judgment” by not clocking out for his shift and that he was “extremely remorseful.”
“When I found that out, I put the member on leave without pay (and) we did a deeper dive,” Simms said.
A fire department audit looked back at more than three years of shifts where Perry — a fire inspector — collected overtime by working shifts on an ambulance.
Of the 246 days he was paid for, the investigation could only confirm Perry worked 54 of them.
For 192 shifts he was paid overtime, according to an internal memo, the city wasn’t sure he was coming to work.
“This member was getting paid overtime for not working,” Simms said.
According to the DFD audit, the pay in question amounts to $138,662.
Perry resigned from the department back on April 3 and today, Detroit police say they’re preparing to submit a warrant to Wayne County’s prosecutor.
'Where was the background investigation?'
Ricardo Moore remembers Perry from this time working for DPD.
“This guy comes across as a very nice guy,” Moore said. “You couldn’t tell me he’s done something like this.”
Today, Moore helps oversee the department on the Board of Police Commissioners, and says Perry’s 2009 criminal case should have ended his career in public service.
“A simple internet search would have produced this information,” Moore said. “Where was the background investigation?”
Back in 2014, Simms was not in charge of the fire department when Perry was hired, and said he could not speak to how Perry slipped through the hiring process.
“Based on our research, we have found no evidence of the Detroit Fire Department having been aware of Perry’s criminal history at the time of his hiring,” said Corey McIsaac, DFD’s director of media relations.
A search of court records today does not return any record of Perry’s 2009 criminal case, meaning it is likely that he had the case expunged.
Still, even the city’s fire commissioner doesn’t understand how Perry got a second chance.
“This was one member out of over 1,100 members,” Simms said. “It was an isolated incident and it won’t happen again.”
While Perry may not receive another paycheck from the fire department, the city may not be done paying him.
Thanks to his years of service, sources confirm, Perry is eligible for a city pension.
