Firebombing in Detroit kills man; 4 other people escape home

Leo Garrett died

DETROIT – A man died early Thursday when someone firebombed a Detroit house with five people inside.

Family identified the victim as 41-year-old Leo Garrett.

Garrett was at a home near Mayfield and Chalmers streets when someone threw an object into the home at 2:47 a.m., setting it on fire. Four people were able to escape the home. Garrett tried to make it out, but he was found dead inside.

“They found him at the base of that window,” said Brenda Lucy, Garrett’s mother.

Garrett’s family said he was the father of 18-year-old Lateo Garrett, who was killed over Cartier sunglasses in May 2019 at a gas station on Seven Mile Road near Outer Drive.

The fire remains under investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Detroit Police Department’s Arson Unit at 313-596-2940 or Crime Stoppers at 800-SPEAK-UP.


About the Authors:

Local 4 Defender Shawn Ley is an Emmy award-winning journalist who has been with Local 4 News for more than a decade.