Block Party Shooting Leaves More Questions Than Answers

A block party shooting in a Detroit neighborhood June 20 has left police with one person dead, nine wounded, and a whole lot of questions that have yet to be answered. The victims ranged in age from 19 to 47, and the victim of the fatal shooting had been shot in May during another altercation.

The drive by shooting appears to have been random, and Assistant Police Chief Steve Dolunt has called the investigation into the matter “very disheartening” as information regarding the block party shooting is incredibly limited. Though there were “dozens” of people who remained on scene after shots were fired, police have not received strong leads, a fact which has left Dolunt deeply troubled.

“Man up or woman up, whatever, and tell us what’s going on,” he said.

Police chief James Craig is equally frustrated, noting that the “cowardly thugs” behind the block party shooting need to be brought to justice.

“You will allow this to continue if you do nothing,” he said.

The block party shooting left one young man – Malik Jones, 19 – dead, though it seemed that the victim was involved in the gunfight. Roughly 400 people attended the block party, and the block party shooting is one that has left the neighborhood reeling.

A 46-year-old man is in critical condition following the block party shooting, and Dolunt noted that “through the grace of God, no children were shot.”

He added that it was because there were a number of kids in the neighborhood that he couldn’t believe people were not talking much about the block party shooting. Craig said there were 47 bullets fired in the melee and noted that there were two potential suspects in the case. According to the police chief, the victims were simply not discussing the shooting at all, which left Detroit Police shaking their heads in frustration.

Although there is a lot of information missing in the case, it is believed the block party shooting was in retaliation for the previous conflict that Jones was involved in earlier. Police were active in canvassing the neighborhood Sunday in order to dig up some details about the case.

Craig noted that the wall of silence officers were currently faced with in the block party shooting was “unacceptable” and that Detroit Police hoped someone would step forward with information in the near future. While Craig and the rest of the Detroit Police Department understand any fear that might be associated with the block party shooting, anyone with information is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 800-SPEAK-UP (800-773-2587).

(Photo courtesy Global News)