Inkster police were called to the 26000 block of Penn Street around 4:50 a.m. April 12 after a report of a male gunshot victim at a home, and by daybreak two teenage boys were dead.
A 17-year-old boy was taken to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead there, while a second victim, a 15-year-old boy, was found in the backyard of the same block and pronounced dead at the scene. Police said officers recovered a firearm after following a blood trail to a backyard on the block, but said the circumstances remain under investigation.
The case hit home for Lottie Landrum and Grady Carr, who said they were awakened just before 5 a.m. by a knock at their door. Landrum said the boy was banging and pleading for them to open it, and that the pair called 911. She later said she saw the boy on the ground and thought of her son, adding that no mother should have to witness that.
Police said detectives are gathering evidence, reviewing surveillance footage and interviewing witnesses. They also said there was no immediate threat to the public.
Mayor Byron Nolen said the city has increased youth programming in recent years through the We Rise Inkster after-school program and the return of the city’s summer camp program, saying tragedies like this show why gun-violence prevention matters. He said the city is trying to get children involved earlier, keep them busy and connect them with mentors, while parents also do their part.
Landrum, who said she wants more mentors for boys and girls, described the deaths as something that should not keep happening. Anyone with information was asked to contact Inkster police Detective T. Parker at 313-563-9869 or Michigan State Police Detective Sgt. Cobb at 313-236-7903.
The deaths leave investigators trying to reconstruct what happened on Penn Street before dawn and a community looking for answers that, for now, police have not said they can give.
