The man accused of setting a fire inside Huntington Place has been charged. Deshawn Victor Harrison was arrested on Friday, May 8 and has been charged with two counts of arson. 

Harrison is accused of walking into Huntington Place on April 26 and using water bottles filled with gasoline to douse the carpet before setting it on fire. 

Huntington Place released a statement saying: “there was no impact to guests… staff or scheduled events.” 

Harrison is in the Wayne County Jail with a $100,000 bond and is due back in court on May 18.

-Reporting by Jonathan Roden 

Additional headlines for Tuesday, May 12, 2026

Michigan ranks low on disability employment

Michigan ranks 44th in the nation for disability-inclusive employment according to a ranking created by EVERWAY, a company that provides solutions for Neurodivergent and autistic individuals. 

The ranking measures employment rates across states using data from disability statistics dot org which found in 2024 only 42.4 % of the people in the State of Michigan with a disability were employed. 

-Reporting by Jonathan Roden 

Metroparks teach swimming, water safety for all

The Huron-Clinton Metroparks hopes to teach 5100 people to swim this year. Its Everyone in the Pool initiative has worked to increase water safety and swim skills for children and adults – especially in communities of color where people are less likely to learn to swim.

They point to data that suggests Black children between 5 and 19 are 5 times more likely to drown than white children the same age, and their own study which found 70% of children in Detroit have little or no swim experience. Huron Metroparks is offering free swim lessons in partnership with the YMCA.

To register for lessons, visit metroparks.com/everyone-in-the-pool.

Summer youth programs at The Yunion

The Yunion has opened registration for two summer youth programs. Level Up Workforce & Leadership Development Camp will allow rising 9^th and 10^th graders to focus on both academic and work skills during its free 6-week program.

And the Keys 2 Life Performing Arts Program will give kids between 11 and 13 a chance to focus on music, dance, theater or digital media with some academic re-enforcement thrown in.

Registration for both programs is open until June 5. For more information visit the theyunion.org/camps.

Vintage Fest this weekend

Camp Dearborn is hosting Vintage Fest this weekend with three events happening at the same time.

From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Classic Car Show will showcase restored and preserve classic autos, The Friends of Camp Dearborn Flea Market will offer one-of-a-kind homemade arts and crafts. It runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The annual Tin Can Tourists’ Open House will give visitors a gander at more than 100 vintage trailers and coaches from as early as the 1930s between noon and 3 p.m.

Camp Dearborn is a 626 acre park located in Milford but owned by the City of Dearborn.

Listen to the latest episode of the “Detroit Evening Report” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Usually, they are found in school gymnasiums or church fellowship rooms. Voting booths are among the most intimate spaces in American democracy.

The process is typically quiet and quick, and it is supposed to be equal. But this is not the case for people with disabilities. A new report published by Detroit Disability Power documents just how often there are barriers at the voting booth, and why it keeps getting worse.

1 in 4 Americans has a disability. In Michigan, that number is nearly 1 in 3. Yet this new report finds only 10% of the polling places assessed in 2025 were fully accessible. That’s down from 13% in the previous report covering the 2024 elections and 16% in the report covering the 2022 elections.

Detroit Disability Power has now audited more than 1,000 polling places across metro Detroit. Trained volunteers have visited precincts during early voting, primaries, and on Election Day, carrying a checklist and a mission: ensure the law is being followed.

Eric Welsby is the advocacy director at Detroit Disability Power. He serves on the Michigan Bureau of Elections’ Voting System Advisory Committee for Accessible Elections, and was recently appointed by Governor Whitmer to the Michigan Developmental Disabilities Council.

Bakpak Durden is a Detroit-born artist, disability advocate, and one of the people who actually show up to do the audits — at roughly 100 polling sites and counting.

They joined Robyn Vincent to discuss why the number of accessible polling locations continues to shrink and what it feels like to be part of a community treated like an afterthought.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

More stories from The Metro