"It was around 9 pm when a single muffled shot could be heard,"said one of the only
witnesses to the murder shooting at 2051 Waterbury Ave. "Then a couple seconds later I
heard two shots clear as day. Then I saw a Burgandy SUV, with a white stripe take off
from there headed north. The white girl driving the SUV shouted back to a black man
driving a dark colored Honda Element, "We have to get out of here, they offed him!" Both
cars headed north through the Waterbury Coach House's parking lot and down the street,
This witness who lives in the area, said the house has been trouble for some time, and that
some of the people living there had been tagging 3-13/Detroit around the neighborhood.
A neighbor watches as the coroner arrives. It was dreadful watching this. The only thing
more dreadful was the insensitive bastards trying to get a shot of the body being pulled out. The cause of death was a single gun shot to the forehead at point blank range.
The other victim was hit in the leg in the driveway, as the shooter got away.
Meanwhile a half a block away on Waterbury, the police surrounded a house that was the
girlfriend of one of those involved.
In this enhanced photo you can see five of the police.
The street looked peaceful, but man was it in turmoil!
But I had to leave to get over to Lakewood Ave. where there was a potential hostage situation
as someone had thought someone broke into the back door and was hiding in the attic.
The fire department gets the ladder to the window.
SWAT head up the ladder.
A SWAT Team member breaks out the window. This a very dangerous situation: a small
window, dark attic, shooter, if there had been one, has the angle, the surprise, and the
best first shot. SWAT and Lakewood Police and Fire are really earning their money now!
With the window open, and now coverage from two angles, SWAT enters from the back,
while the officer on the ladder provides cover.
At about 1:30am Mayor Mike Summers gets an update from SWAT, Police and Fire. As of
this time, the police had about a half-a-dozen people in custody and some of them were
talking up a storm.
By the end of early morning, police and SWAT had visited Waterbury Ave. (2 locations), Lakewood Ave, (1 location), Elbur Ave. (1 Location), Quail (1 location). Whew what a night!
7am the same morning the ambulance and police were back at Quail. Pulling someone
out of the apartment on the corner, related to last night.
They had also arrested three more potential members. While the police are saying not
gang related, the neighbors said, "They all wear black hoodies, run together, and tag the
neighborhood with the same thing."
Police sit them down while waiting for back-up.
So to recap in daylight...
The girlfriend's place on Waterbury...
The house on Lakewood Ave. they thought they were hiding in....
...with the broken out window.
And the house where it all started at 9pm. I predict this will have massive fallout
throughout the city. This, as one of many party houses with activity, will certainly bring
in a wild and varied assortment of "friends" too. As of this morning nearly 10 people had
been taken into custody. I believe most were talking.
Some of the major figures in this nightmare, came from the Youth Re-Entry Program in
Lakewood's Hidden Village. Hidden Village was also the home to the man who robbed a
kid at gunpoint at Emerson last winter!
As I leave Waterbury to go to breakfast at The Coffee Pot, I see a familiar image...
As if asking why, oh why has this neighborhood turned so.
Meanwhile a little farther up the street...
Stay tuned for the most complete coverage of this, and other important events in Lakewood.
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