DETROIT – After a string of violence in Downtown Detroit, the city is rolling out new plans to keep the streets safe this summer.
The violence included a shooting in Greektown that took the life of a beloved security guard.
Loved ones gathered outside his former place of employment for a vigil Thursday (April 20).
This past weekend there were five shootings in Greektown. Local 4 reported Saturday (April 15) as we waited to talk to Detroit Police Department Chief James White when Darryl Straughter was shot and killed inside the liquor store.
So as the city comes up with a new plan for how to keep the streets safe- Straughter’s grieving family says goodbye.
They called him the Greektown Guardian. His job was to make everyone feel safe, but he was shot and killed last weekend in the rash of gun violence in Greektown.
He worked at Athens Liquor when a dispute between two customers cost him his life.
Read: Man, woman arraigned on charges linked to murder of beloved security guard in Greektown
Heartbroken family and friends gathered outside the store Thursday to say goodbye.
That kind of violence had the city rolling out a new strategy to keep the streets safe.
The strategy is a 12-point plan that involves the use of metal detectors.
Police Chief James White says more police will patrol areas like Greektown and the Riverwalk.
They will be closing down roads, enforcing the city’s curfew, and cracking down on drinking alcohol in public.
Crowd management will push people towards metal detectors that will screen crowds for weapons.
“We are actively looking for people illegally carrying weapons,” said White. “I’ve directed it, and we make no apologies about it. “We have to keep this community safe.”
Without Straughter, the streets of Greektown won’t be the same or feel as safe as grieving loved ones and a shaken city plead for peace.
The city offers $250 for tips in its new “Eagle Eye” hotline on people carrying weapons.