Niles shootings caused by 'bad blood,' police say as residents remain fearful

NILES — Residents of a neighborhood just northeast of downtown Niles are still on edge a week after two teenage girls were killed in a late-night shooting in which more than 50 rounds were fired.

Police say Demi Galvin, 15, and Yasmeen Scott, 18, weren’t the targets of the Sept. 20 shooting, but their deaths mark the latest in a string of retaliatory killings apparently due to “bad blood.”

“This is a very recent thing that’s kicked up and what appears to be a lot of retaliation and a lot of street justice if you call it that,” Niles police Capt. Michael Dawson said.

Violence in the area along 6th and 7th streets north of Ferry Street started when Farries Maxwell, 36, was shot and killed on 7th Street in the early morning of Aug. 16. Police reports say witnesses saw three people run away after the gunfire. Then on the evening of Sept. 8, 26-year-old Raquon Glenn was killed near the intersection of 6th and Ferry streets just a block away.

A few days later, Niles police responded to numerous reports of gunfire along Ferry Street between 5th and 6th streets. Though no one was injured, around 30 shell casings were recovered.

How recent Niles violence started is unclear

Police aren’t sure what precipitated the recent violence, but they believe it started when Maxwell got into a fistfight with another person. Maxwell was shot and killed as a result of that altercation, which set in motion the string of homicides.

Dawson emphasized that although some people believed to be involved are members of gangs, the violence appears to stem from purely interpersonal conflicts.

“Some of the people involved are gang members, we’re very well aware of that. But we do not believe this initially was a gang-related thing. It’s more just bad blood between families or friends or people who don’t like each other,” Dawson said.

'I want to stay safe'

Whatever the cause of the recent incidents, residents in the area are worried, with many refusing to talk to reporters out of fear.

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“No. I want to stay safe,” one person said when approached by a reporter Monday.

“I don’t know what to say other than people are shooting other people for no reason,” another individual who declined to give their name said.

One woman who talked with The Tribune, Michelle Hinrichs, said she was sitting on her front porch on Sept. 20 when Galvin and Scott were killed. Hinrichs lives down the street and remembers hearing more than 50 shots in a near-constant string of fire.

“It was pretty continuous. They didn’t let off the hammer. It’s the kind of (expletive) you see on TV,” she said.

Hinrichs said her wife thought the popping sounds were coming from the TV at first, but the pair quickly rushed upstairs with their children

Even though the shootings appear to be targeted, Hinrichs is worried someone in her family could be hit by a stray bullet.

“Nobody goes outside at night. Shotguns are leaned at every door. We pay attention to cars we don’t recognize,” Hinrichs said, adding that the area hasn’t seen the sustained level of shootings in the three years she’s lived there.

Dawson said the area has not seen an inordinate amount of police calls in recent years but said additional police units have been and will continue to patrol the area in light of the recent shootings.

Coming forward

The focus for investigators is on getting witnesses to come forward, which has yielded mixed results so far, Dawson said. Although police have gotten multiple tips, individuals with knowledge of the shootings have so far declined to give their names, making it tough for police to build a case.

“We had people who were five feet away from the Ferris Maxwell shooting who looked us straight in the face and told us they didn’t see anything,” Dawson said. “The second and third shootings might not have taken place if people would have talked.”

Niles Mayor Nick Shelton’s office also released a statement last week urging residents with information to come forward.

“Sharing what was witnessed can be difficult, especially when witnesses are recounting actions that result in death,” the statement read in part. “However, it is imperative that the community works together to assist in identifying those responsible and to, hopefully, put an end to these senseless acts.”

Niles city council members Amanda Dunnem and Travis Timm, who represent the city’s 2nd Ward in which the recent shootings occurred, did not return messages seeking comment Tuesday.

Even without witness accounts, Dawson is confident detectives will be able to glean forensic evidence from the most recent shooting where dozens of rounds were fired, thanks to the help of the Michigan State Police crime lab. Ballistic evidence and a large number of tips have police confident they can solve the case.

“We have a lot more tips coming in now, and I believe it’s because people are upset that these two young girls were killed,” he said.

As of Tuesday, there have been no arrests made in any of the four homicides.

While police continue their investigation, others involved in the neighborhood know the efforts of law enforcement alone won't bring an end to the violence.

“I don’t really know what the issue is as far as why it’s happening; I just really want it to stop,” said Bryant Bacon, pastor of Mount Calvary Baptist Church.

Bacon didn’t personally know any of the four people killed since August, but he said the pain from their deaths touches the whole community. Calvary Baptist Church is situated on the corner of Ferry and 6th streets, just steps away from where Raquon Glenn was killed earlier this month. That fact weighs on Bacon, who now feels called to be more proactive in engaging nearby residents.

“In my opinion, we have to get out in the community and lead people to a better way of living,” Bacon said. “Get them to understand that this is not God’s plan for our lives nor is it his plan for our community. I think if we can get people to change their hearts and to change their minds, we can change some of the situations that we’re having.”

Email Marek Mazurek at mmazurek@sbtinfo.com. Follow him on Twitter: @marek_mazurek

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Niles shootings: Residents concerned about safety