DETROIT – A 16-year-old boy was shot and killed last week on his way home from school in Detroit, and his family says it may have been because of a pair of shoes.
Elijah Reece, 16, was shot three times in the afternoon of Wednesday, May 22. Reece was believed to be with a group of teenagers, which included some of his schoolmates from East English Village Preparatory Academy at Finney High School.
That Wednesday afternoon, Reece was with the group of teens near a vacant lot off the I-94 Service Drive near King Richard Street. Neighbors said there didn’t appear to be any friction among the group until suddenly they heard raised voices and then gunshots.
The neighbors, who didn’t want to be on camera, told Local 4 that the group of teenagers didn’t usually hang out in that area.
Reece’s family said the boy was likely targeted because of a pair of shoes. His mother, Jamie Reece, said she had bought her son a pair of $1,200 shoes from the late designer Alexander McQueen.
“Senseless,” Jamie Reece said at a May 27 vigil for her son. “Y’all killed my baby for nothing.”
Detroit police were still investigating the shooting that killed the 16-year-old boy, who was known as a good and popular kid. Authorities had taken multiple teens into custody for questioning following the shooting.
No arrests had been made as of Tuesday this week. Neighbors told Local 4 that they saw one shooter and one gun, though that information hasn’t been confirmed yet by police.
Watch Shawn Ley’s latest report below.