A man in Detroit fired randomly at people over a roughly 2 1/2-hour period on Sunday morning, shooting four people and killing three, police said.

The unidentified suspect was arrested Sunday evening after an hourslong manhunt with help from the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Department of Homeland Security.

Tips led officers to the suspect but no further information was released, Detroit Police Chief James White said.

In a statement late Sunday, Detroit police Chief James White said, “This did not need to happen," adding, "Once again, Detroiters are reeling after lives were senselessly taken at random from our community. We mourn their loss and pray for those fighting for their lives at this hour. There are more questions than answers, but Detroiters can sleep peacefully tonight knowing this suspect is off the streets."

Gun violence in the US has become the main cause of death among the youth, with the majority of gun-related incidents concentrated in schools across the country.

The recent spree of tragic shootings in the US has pushed guns to the forefront of a national debate as US leaders grapple with how to reduce the alarming rate of violence.

Just three days ago, four individuals were also killed in a shooting incident in Arizona, according to media reports.

Days earlier, three people were shot in Atlanta's Midtown area Monday afternoon, according to police who announced that the shooter is on the loose.

School shootings in the United States have also been exponentially rising as of late, surging to reach 193 documented incidents during the last academic year. These crimes have left 59 people dead and scores wounded, advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety has lately said in a report.

Ghost guns

The soaring gun violence in the United States and loose gun laws permit just about anyone to possess a firearm.

Over the past five-year period, the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) could only trace 0.98% of suspected "ghost guns" handed in by law enforcement to an individual purchaser, the department added.

According to the organization Gun Violence Archive (GVA), more than 15,070 people have died from gun violence since the beginning of the year in the United States, including suicides.

Over the whole of 2020, the number was at 45,000 dead, said GVA, a figure which has prompted the White House to speak of an "epidemic".

So far in 2022, according to the organization, 12,166 have sustained injuries from gun violence, with a total of 179 shootings carried out over the United States.