Teen gunshot victim's family home burns down weeks before his hospital release

DETROIT (FOX 2) - "All our clothing, furniture, appliances, memories - we lost basically everything," said Denice Hill. 

Smoke damage, broken windows, and debris are all that is left of Denice Hill's home on Woodlawn near Van Dyke in Detroit after a fire last week. It is the latest of several tragedies for Hill and her family. 

"I have my bad days," she said. "It's hard sometimes. I sit around and cry and get depressed. Sometimes I just think about all the good times I had with everybody."

Hill's grief began in 2015 when she lost her 16-year-old son Antoine Henley in a car crash. In Oct. 2019, another car crash killed her son, 17-year-old Antonio Henley.

A month later her fiancé Gary Adams Sr. was shot and killed. In July, her 15-year-old son Gary Adams Jr. was at a birthday party - when he and three friends were shot. At the time police believed it was gang-related. 

Gary Adams Jr. was shot and wounded at a birthday party recently.

"They were at the wrong place at the wrong time," she said. "They don't think it was necessarily gang-related, they were where something bad happened."

After spending the last several months in a hospital, Gary Jr. is expected to be released soon. But right now because of the fire, Gary and his family have nowhere to call home. 

"They need a house first of all," said Carol Adams, Gary's grandmother. "Gary Jr. needs a safe environment. He will be released from the hospital in a few weeks. Denise has been looking for a house, but hasn't been able to find one."

The Hills' rental house on the east side of Detroit was gutted from a fire.

Now this family is asking for help to get back on their feet with a GoFundMe. Hill does not have renter's insurance, so all money raised will go towards replacing furniture and making sure Gary has a safe place to live while he continues on his road to recovery. 

"We want everything to be set for him when he gets out i don't know if he will be released from the hospital if he doesn't have a home to come back to," said Adams. "And he really wants to get out of there." 

TO HELP:

If you know of a place Hill and her family can live please email fox2newsdesk@foxtv.com or if you would like to donate to the GoFundMe campaign, click here.