Lansing officials vowed to enforce curfew after mass shooting. Why that didn't happen

LANSING — The city's curfew ordinance − cited as a possible tool to keep youths off the street at night following a mass shooting in May − hasn't turned out to be much of a crime-fighting weapon, at least, not yet.

As of Wednesday, just short of a month after a mass shooting in Rotary Park left one teen dead and six other young people injured, Lansing police acknowledged they had issued no citations for curfew violations, even though officials had vowed police would "aggressively" enforce the ordinance.

At the time, Mayor Andy Schor acknowledged the city doesn't have the staffing to run dedicated curfew patrols but said the police department would enforce the curfew ordinance when it encounters violators. The ordinance requires kids 12 and under be home by 10 p.m. and children between ages 13 and 16 be off the streets by midnight.

In a statement on Wednesday, Schor called the curfew ordinance "just one small piece of this overall issue" and said officials did not expect to cite violators. Rather, they expected curfew violators to be taken home or picked up at the police station by a parent or guardian, he said.

“We knew from the start that enforcement of this ordinance would be tough," Schor said. "But, it is on the books and will be enforced if and when our law enforcement officers encounter minors who are violating."

Lansing Police Public Information Director Jordan Gulkis echoed Schor's comments.

“We acknowledge the ordinance can be difficult to enforce, due to factors like officer availability and high call volume," she said in a separate statement. "With that said, our officers remain committed to action when it’s called for and will issue violations fairly and when called for.”

Schor's vow in late May to aggressively enforce the curfew ordinance was a change from his position last August when, after a spate of violence, he and police officials expressed little enthusiasm for stepped-up curfew enforcement, saying police didn't have the resources.

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The mass shooting happened around 2:50 a.m. May 27 during a large gathering in the 300 block of Riverview Drive, between Rotary Park and the business district along the riverfront north of Michigan Avenue.

Kylete Owens, 17, was killed. Two people, ages 16 and 20, were critically injured and four others — ages 16, 16, 18 and 18 — suffered non-life-threatening gunshot wounds, they said. Police later announced that the two critically injured victims had been upgraded to stable.

The gathering was peaceful until members of two opposing groups opened fire into the crowd, police said. Investigators believed multiple firearms were used and that some or all of the victims were unintended targets.

The incident drew tough talk from Schor and police officials at a May 28 news conference. They vowed to enforce the curfew whenever possible and work toward finding more resources for police and keeping guns out of the hands of children.

Schor called on state and federal officials to provide more help in the way of funding and passing gun-reform laws. He also said the city needs to find ways to do more with its limited crimefighting tools.

"Congress must act and pass common-sense gun reform," he said. "I also call on state government to do more."

There also "needs to be greater consequences for those that lose their gun or allow their gun to be stolen," Schor said. "If the state doesn’t want to do this, then let the cities do it with local control. And if people don’t like stronger gun laws, then they can vote with their feet and live somewhere else."

Schor said Lansing needs more money to add police officers, including ones who could monitor surveillance cameras "in real time," allowing officers to be dispatched where large crowds are gathering, he said.

On Wednesday, Schor said he's been clear about the need for more officers on the streets and is hopeful the Legislature will pass a law enforcement revenue sharing measure that would allow the city to expand its police ranks.

"I'd also love to see the legislature help local governments by giving us more tools and passing more laws to get illegal guns off the streets and out of the hands of those who shouldn’t have them, including young people," he said.

In all, nine people have died by violence in Lansing this year.

The most recent homicide was a June 15 shooting that killed Thomas Blackmon, 35, in the 4000 block of MacDougal Circle, near the intersection of Waverly and Jolly roads, police said. Keijuan Richard Eskin, 19, has been charged in connection with Blackmon's death.

On Tuesday night, a 16-year-old suspect deliberately struck a Lansing police vehicle while trying to escape after the attempted traffic stop in the area of the Kensington Meadows Mobile Home park in the 4200 block of Jolly Road, Michigan State Police said. Four teens were caught after running from the vehicle, and a fifth suspect was still at large, they said.

The arrests happened while troopers from the Lansing Post and members of the Lansing Violent Crimes Initiative unit were investigating a drive-by shooting that happened earlier that day in the area of Dunckel and Jolly roads, state police said.

Police found three stolen firearms in the vehicle. Two 18-year-olds from Lansing were lodged at the Lansing city lockup, and two 16-year-old boys, also from Lansing, were taken to the Ingham County Youth Home.

Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on X @KBPalm_lsj.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing mayor vowed to enforce curfew after mass shooting. Why that didn't happen