Teen's deadly accidental shooting • White Lake considers pit bull ordinance • Detroit comeback story
THURSDAY NEWS HIT - A 14-year-old was pronounced dead at the hospital after an accidental shooting at a home on Detroit's east side.
Police responded around 1 a.m. following reports that a gunshot had gone off, striking a male teenager. It happened in the 16000 block of Fordham
Detroit police have spent all morning at the scene collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses.
Officers say the teen was making a video when the firearm accidentally went off, hitting him in the side.
At least two adults were home during the shooting, as well as several other teenagers. It's unclear how the victim got ahold of the firearm.
Accidental shootings where a juvenile gets ahold of a weapon before firing it at a sibling or themselves are not new in the city. Earlier in June a baby was injured after his cousin found a weapon inside the home on Tennessee Street. The father denies the weapon wasn't secured.
The Wayne County Prosecutor lamented the continued string of shootings victimizing young people in the city.
The state recently passed safe storage laws that mandate a firearm be secured in the presence of a young person - however, it doesn't go into effect until next year.
White Lake residents eye pit bull ordinance
A White Lake Township board meeting heard powerful testimony from community members calling for an ordinance requiring Rottweilers and pit bulls to be better restrained. One woman - hoping no other family goes through the pain she’s going through.
"My 91-year-old mother, the kindest person that I never knew - was fatally mauled by my sister’s Rottweilers at their home in Bloomfield Township in September of 21," she said. "This is the reality of a violent dog attack. I am still in trauma therapy since this unspeakable tragedy happened in my family.
Others expressed similar concerns about the dogs. However, not everyone thinks the ordinance would work. The president of the Michigan Pitbull Education Project argued there was a lot of discrimination around the pit bull breed.
"Let’s say it was a German Shepherd that did this or an Irish Springer Spaniel or something, you got to look at the situation or what happened, not the type of breed," said Terry Hodskins. "It’s the personality of that dog and responsibilities of the owner of what led up to that, and who is irresponsible. That’s what you need to look at.
Detroit comeback at a community level
If you're in the area of Puritan or Six Mile in the Fitzgerald Neighborhood, you may notice a change to the local landscape. Blight has been removed, vacant homes torn down, and a new garden has been built up.
But that's just icing on the cake of the revival happening under the Marygrove Community Association, which has been hard at work restoring care and maintenance to the local spot. Along with a community garden is a new park that's set to be unveiled Thursday.
Named Huntington Community Park after a generous donation from the bank, the area has seen a bit of a bounce in its livelihood with more residents moving in and housing prices stabilizing - or even rising.
Both Valarie and Fred Watkins have lived in the area since 1999 and have roots that go even deeper in the city. Chief among their concerns is who will maintain the area after they're gone. They hope with enough progress, the community input will help carry the area forward.
Read our feature story on the comeback here.
Suspended Warren officer had previous accusation of assault
A Warren police officer seen on camera hitting a suspect who was being booked and slamming him on the ground had a previous complaint against him 10 years ago.
Video from inside the jail showed Officer Matthew Rodriguez, 48, hit a carjacking suspect, who sources identified as Jaquwan Smith, knocking him to the ground after his June 12 arrest. Rodriguez then slammed Smith's head on the ground and hit him again.
Court records show that Rodriquez was involved in another excessive force case in April 2013. Rodriquez and two other officers are accused of assaulting two suspects who were arrested for driving under the influence.
The complaint says, "Rodriguez rushed over to Devonte Campbell, grabbed onto him, and violently pulled D. Campbell off the bench to the floor, then slung him around and dragged him, as if he were a rag doll, to a nearby detention cell."
Wayne County launches auto theft task force
A new auto theft task force has been created in Wayne County to help combat the epidemic of auto theft around the country and in Metro Detroit. Six police agencies are joining forces to create the Dearborn Metro Auto Theft Task Force which will include a special investigator with the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.
And it's not just Kias being stolen. Chryslers have become popular models for theft. In Dearborn Heights for example, there have been 125 vehicles stolen just since the first of the year.
That staggering figures plague Southeast Michigan. The Auto Theft Task Force launched on June 1, and already – four vehicles were seized and tens of thousands of dollars in equipment to steal vehicles.
Often times the stolen cars are used in other crimes. Just last week, two pharmacies were robbed in Dearborn Heights, and the crew used a stolen Kia leading police on a chase in Livonia, where they were caught.
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Daily Forecast
Going to be another beautiful day of weather with temperatures in the 70s and plenty of sun to kick things off. We'll get more clouds as the day goes on, but don't worry about rain until at least Friday.
What else we're watching
- The Michigan Legislature is set to hear bills on sunsetting coal-fired power plants Thursday when the energy committee considers a series of bills sponsored by Democrats aimed at reducing the state's carbon footprint.
- A vacant apartment complex in Detroit has been torched after a blaze burned out the bottom three floors of the five-story building. No one was injured, but the flames got rather high.
- The state Supreme Court has agreed to take up a case involving Michigan's minimum wage law. It will consider whether a move to weaken the law after passing it was constitutional. Learn more here.
- Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit is celebrating the final phase of construction of its Mary Ann Wright Animal Adoption and Education Center. They have to vacate their old building by the end of the year, so pressure is on to get the work done.
- Mayor Jim Fouts is set to give his final State of the City address today at 11 a.m. Fouts has said "the gloves are off and there is nothing that is off limits" with regards to the address. He previously was told he could not longer run for mayor due to term limits.
U.S. regulators approve sale of 'lab-grown' meat
For the first time, U.S. regulators on Wednesday approved the sale of chicken made from animal cells, allowing two California companies to offer "lab-grown" meat to the nation’s restaurant tables and eventually, supermarket shelves.
The Agriculture Department gave the green light to Upside Foods and Good Meat, firms that had been racing to be the first in the U.S. to sell meat that doesn’t come from slaughtered animals — what’s now being referred to as "cell-cultivated" or "cultured" meat as it emerges from the laboratory and arrives on dinner plates.
The move launches a new era of meat production aimed at eliminating harm to animals and drastically reducing the environmental impacts of grazing, growing feed for animals and animal waste.