A 16-year-old girl was sitting in a Jeep Cherokee on Chalmers Street with three others on Oct. 13 when Detroit police say a dark sedan drove by and fired at the car, killing the girl and wounding another teen.
The hit-and-run killing marked the seventh person killed by gunfire in one week, according to Detroit police on Wednesday, Oct. 14. And the wounded 19-year-old who was shot in the hip was among 17 additional people who were shot and injured.
That's 24 people.
The rash of shootings has hit the community hard, considering three minors were victims — like a 7-year-old girl who was shot, along with her mother, on Oct. 12 by a man who was angry over a fight between children.
Less than two weeks ago, Mayor Mary Sheffield and Detroit Police Chief
Todd Bettison touted overall crime reduction in the summer months compared to last year and cited several city initiatives to curb violence, like Occupy the Summer and the city’s community violence intervention (CVI) program “ShotStoppers.”
On Oct. 5, the pair said homicides, from June to August, dropped 25% — juvenile homicides plummeted even lower, down 89% compared to summer last year, they said. Juvenile non-fatal shootings dropped by 22%.
Detroit police acknowledge community concern
Jasmin Barmore, Detroit police’s media director, said in a Wednesday, Oct. 14, statement that the department has heard the concerns from the community and takes them seriously — “while these incidents do not reflect the overall downward trend in crime, we recognize that behind every statistic is a life impacted by violence.”
“We understand that these incidents — particularly those involving young people — may not reflect what Detroiters are seeing and feeling in their neighborhoods,” Barmore continued.
She said the department will increase targeted enforcement in violence hot spots and will continue working with CVI groups, neighborhood leaders, and the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhoods and Community Safety “to identify any common factors or emerging trends − especially those involving juvenile victims.”
“We are committed to ensuring that Detroiters not only see a reduction in crime but also feel that impact,” Barmore said.
“Our primary goal is to always determine what additional steps can be taken to intervene early, address potential causes of violence, and prevent future incidents.”
Tamara Liberty Smith of the organization Ceasefire Detroit − who responded to the scene of several of the incidents this week − also expressed the sentiment that these victims are more than just numbers.
“These are children, families, and communities experiencing real trauma,” she told the Free Press.
She said Ceasefire will continue doing what they do: “being present in communities, building relationships, mediating conflicts, and intervening before another tragedy occurs.”
"We cannot continue to respond after our children are hurt. We must do more to prevent the next shooting,” Liberty Smith said.
“Our children deserve the opportunity to grow up, pursue their dreams, and live without fear of gun violence. We cannot keep losing our babies. It’s going to take all of us working together to change this reality.”
Andrea Sahouri covers criminal justice for the Detroit Free Press. Contact her at asahouri@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 16-year-old girl killed in latest Detroit shooting
