There has been a string of murders in one neighborhood of Niles, Michigan. Four people have been killed and another three wounded. Police say all the shootings are directly related and part of a retaliatory cycle of violence. All of the shootings appear to be Black on Black, however the local media is censoring all descriptions of suspects.
This is a small town of about 12k people in Michigan. It is only 13%-14% Black.
On August 16th, Farries Maxwell, 36, was shot and killed at N 7th St and Ferry St. Maxwell was walking down the street at the time. Witnesses saw three suspects flee the scene.
On September 8th, Ra’Quon D’Angelo Glenn, 26, was shot and killed at N 6th St and Ferry St. Police believe the killing was retaliation for Maxwell.
On September 20th, five people were shot in a drive-by shooting at 620 N 6th St. Yasmeen Scott, 18, and Demi Galvin, 15, were killed. Police believe the shooting was retaliation for one of the first two shootings.
All of the shootings occurred within 1,000 feet of each other. No suspects have been arrested.
Earlier this year, Gavin Blankenship, a 14-year-old White male, was murdered in front of his apartment complex in Niles. Witnesses say the perpetrators got out of a stolen truck and then fled the scene. Local media censored the description of the suspects. The truck had been stolen one day earlier from a Black male who used it for a masonry business.
These five homicides give the small town a staggering homicide rate of 41.7 per 100k in 2022. None of these have been solved.
