East-side residents want answers after fatal mass shooting
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Quincy Graham stands beside City Council President Mary Sheffield at a vigil after 21 people were shot nearby. His niece, Shanae Fletcher, 20, was one of two killed last weekend in the shooting. Photo: Samuel Robinson/Axios
Mohican Regent neighborhood leaders want answers as neighbors mourn the block party shooting that happened around the corner from where city officials held a vigil Wednesday.
The big picture: Nearly a week after the early Sunday shooting, east-side residents at Marbud Park said they want to know who is responsible and why police didn't respond to 911 calls about the growing party made before the shooting that left 19 injured and two people dead.
Catch up quick: The shooting is Michigan's worst since 2013, the Free Press reports.
- As of Thursday, no arrests have been made.
- Detroit police reported 11 victims were released from the hospital and eight are still being treated and expected to be released in the coming days.
It was an emotional evening for police commissioner Darryl Woods, who acknowledged for the first time at the vigil that his niece was among the 21 people shot. She remains at a local hospital in recovery, Woods said. "She got shot in her neck and the bullet came out her shoulder," Woods tells Axios. "She's wounded and healing. She's traumatized."
- Woods told Axios he expects the investigation to take significant time.
- "Accountability looks like being transparent to this community. I have confidence chief [James] White will be honest and open and transparent."
What they're saying: "Sad." That's all Quincy Graham could muster when he first spoke into the microphone Wednesday during a candlelight vigil at the park to reflect on his niece Shanae Fletcher's life.
- Fletcher was one of two people killed and one of 15 young women shot.
- "I haven't been through anything like that," Graham, who held back tears, said from the podium.
Graham says police failed to show up despite hearing that neighbors called police about the block party several hours before the shooting.
- "We so worried about the image of downtown and this city, all the cops downtown," Graham said. "If you're going to protect these kids, protect 'em. Stop faking, man."
Between the lines: City Council President Mary Sheffield led the vigil, which brought together neighborhood residents, faith leaders, members of Omega Psi Phi and community violence intervention group Detroit 300.
- Council members Gabriela Santiago-Romero, Latisha Johnson and Scott Benson, who represent the area, were also in attendance.
What's next: Mohican Regent resident association leader George Preston, who has lived in the neighborhood for nearly 40 years, says after the shooting "we are going to roll up our sleeves and work with that block and see what is needed to move forward."
He invited the public to connect with lawmakers and law enforcement at the organization's community meetings, which are held every third Thursday of the month on Seven Mile and Hayes.