Detroit— A toy Jeep lay among shards of broken glass Monday in the front yard of a home on the city’s west side, where a shooting left a 9-month-old boy dead and an outraged community searching for ways to stop the violence.
Diamond Salter said she was asleep in her home in the 8400 block of Greenview Avenue early Monday when shots rang out. As her son, Delric Miller IV, dozed on a living room couch, bullets pierced windows and walls, striking the boy.
“I grabbed my baby and wrapped him up in a blanket … and ran in the basement,” said Salter, 19. “I thought he was asleep because that’s how I left him. I thought he was alive … I started feeling for him, and he wouldn’t wake up.”
Someone fired 37 rounds from an AK-47-type assault rifle into the home around 4:30 a.m., Police Chief Ralph Godbee said. The shooting was gang-related, he said.
In the hours following the shooting, family members arrived at the home, hugging and sobbing. It’s a scene Godbee said has been repeated all too often.
The killing was the 43rd homicide in the city so far this year, up from 35 during the same period last year, Godbee said. It’s also the second murder of a youngster in Detroit within the past three weeks.
“Again, adult behavior has brought another child in Detroit to an end,” Godbee said.
Thamar Johnson, spokesman for the United Communities of America, said police can only do so much. Johnson’s group organized a protest last month by the city’s funeral home directors in which a motorcade of hearses cruised the city to bring attention to escalating violence.
“There are so many different reasons why there’s so much violence,” Johnson said. “The things kids see on TV every day; the music they listen to; their environment; the lack of education, the sense of hopelessness, the lack of good parenting — all these things are to blame.”
Police, church and political leaders all spoke out Monday against the violent “culture” of the city.
Authorities can’t quell the violence alone, Detroit Councilwoman Saunteel Jenkins said.
“There are not enough police officers in the state to stop this if everyday citizens don’t get involved,” she said.
“We have to get “guns off the street and we have to change our culture so that people have a respect for life.”
Detroit minister Malik Shabazz agreed: “This culture of violence, the culture of individualism, the culture of me, myself and I … must end. You’re never going to resurrect Detroit until you deal with the culture of violence that exists within the people.”
Part of that culture is the “no snitch” attitude that has frustrated police investigating murders. Godbee said key people have refused to provide information about Monday’s killing.
“We need community pressure,” he said. “We understand it may not have been the intent of the shooter to kill that child but the fact remains that we have a dead child. Somebody knows something. Somebody needs to say something.”
Godbee said investigators have a handle on what happened, but would release no details.
“We know who they are,” Godbee said. “This was not a random incident.”
State promises help
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has promised more resources to fight crime. During his State of the State address in January, Snyder pointed out that Michigan has four cities — Detroit, Flint, Pontiac and Saginaw — which are among the nation’s Top 10 most violent cities.
Snyder said he will detail his crime-fighting strategy in a Special Message to the Legislature on Public Safety in March.
Salter, whose 1-year-old daughter was staying with a relative, said there were eight people in the house — including three children — when the shooting took place. She said she doesn’t know why someone opened fire.
Salter said she’s no stranger to violence; she was inside her home at a different location years ago when a similar crime occurred: Someone started shooting at the house, and her sister, who was also inside, was killed.
“I got to be strong, because I still have a daughter to live for,” Salter said.
Police said a witness reported that a light-colored van sped away from the scene.
The boy’s father, Delric Miller III, was not at the home when the shooting began. He arrived early Monday afternoon and stayed for approximately 20 minutes. He said his son loved to play with his toy hammer.
As Miller left the home Monday afternoon, he said: “I need some time for myself.”
Godbee’s plan
Godbee has recently unveiled initiatives aimed at stemming the violence.
Last week, Godbee rolled out an 18-month trial run of the “broken window” model of community policing, in which officers will focus on nonviolent offenses like broken taillights or loitering, in hopes of stopping more serious crimes before they happen.
But the chief said while an increased police presence can have an effect on nonviolent crimes like break-ins, more street cops aren’t likely to prevent murders.
In the other recent child killing, 12-year-old Kadejah Davis was shot to death Jan. 31 when a gunman fired through the front door of the home in which she was living with her mother.
Police arrested Joshua Brown, 19, and his mother, Heather Brown, in the incident.
According to police, Joshua Brown came to the home of Kadejah’s mother, Amanda Talton, on Ferguson Street and demanded the return of a cellphone Talton had found earlier at her tax preparer’s office.
Police said he fired shots through the door after Talton told him she didn’t have the phone and closed the door.
Brown has been charged with first-degree murder, assault with intent to murder and felony firearm. His mother, Heather, has been charged with accessory after the fact.
Anyone with information about Monday’s shooting is asked to call the Detroit police’s homicide section at (313) 596-2260.
CrimeStoppers of Michigan is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. Phone anonymous tips to (800) SPEAK-UP (773-2587).
Detroit News Staff Writer Tom Greenwood contributed.
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