Dozens witness double murder in The Hole, but police at loss for leads

DETROIT (WJBK) - Two families continue to grieve the two lives taken by gun violence. The double homicide happened in a Detroit neighborhood called The Hole and, despite so many witnesses, no one has offered help to police to solve the case. 

Teniqua Parker and Jamal Reid, both in their late 20s, shared a son together. They had a night out in the city before making their way back to the neighborhood, where Jamal and the shooter had a confrontation over money Jamal was owed.

"He took his coat off to fight the guy, 'cause they had got to arguing, and when he got ready to take his coat off he just started shooting him up," says Tonya Parker, Teniqua's mother. When Teniqua tried to save Jamal, the shooter fired at her as well. Both were killed. Police recovered fourteen 45 caliber shell casings.

"I miss her more than life itself. It's just not fair," Parker says. "She left a little 4-year-old boy who cries all the time for his momma and his daddy."

The shooting happened just before 5 a.m. on November 5, 2016 at the intersection of Scheaffer and Liddlesdale -- a spot in a Detroit neighborhood called The Hole. 

"It's called The Hole because basically it's surrounded by a refinery along the freeway. Pretty much there is only one way to access it, and that's from the Schaffer area," explains Detroit Police Detective Mark Lambert. It's a community where everyone knows everyone, and they only talk to each other.

More than a year later, the case remains unsolved. Despite dozens of witnesses -- no one has offered any help to police. 

"Everybody always coming to tell us, 'We know who did it; we know this and we know that,' - but you really need to come down to the station and just give a statement," says Roger Parker Sr., Teniqua's father. 

"The same people that was down there would be riding around with my daughter, getting their hair done, and they're too afraid to talk. Afraid of what? He's coming back for you? No. Let's get him off the streets," says Tonya. 

"If a person can murder two people and walk around like nothing has happened, people get the idea that they can kill; it doesn't matter. They can kill whoever they want to, just go out and shoot 'em. Hey, ain't nothing going to happen to them," says Grover Reid, Jamal's grandfather. 

Right now, Detroit Police say they have a person of interest but they're still hopeful someone will come forward to identify the shooter.

If you are willing to speak up, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP. You will be anonymous.