DETROIT – New details have emerged in Detroit in a Burgess Street shooting that killed a 20-year-old man and left a 7-year-old boy critically injured.
Federal prosecutors have filed a criminal complaint against 32-year-old Lonnie Moore, a convicted felon, accusing him of possessing a firearm.
Investigators say the confrontation may have started over a chain.
According to court documents, Moore allegedly FaceTimed a witness just hours before the shooting and threatened to kill the victims if his chain wasn’t returned within 24 hours.
Agents tied social media posts and the alleged FaceTime threat to Moore.
Neighbors say blight fuels violence
The shooting is still rattling residents on Detroit’s west side, where boarded-up homes and piles of trash have turned the block into what neighbors describe as a magnet for crime.
“The fact that somebody seven years old got shot because of the way this looks. That’s not right,” said Debra Bernard, who lives in the neighborhood.
Bernard says the blight in the Brightmoor neighborhood invites trouble. Most houses on the block are boarded up and empty.
Michael Williams, a neighbor who also owns several properties on the street, says the city needs to act before another tragedy strikes.
“It’s an attractive nuisance for anyone that’s looking to engage in nefarious activities,” Williams said.
Williams is calling on city officials to clean up the block so families can feel safe.
“Let’s not wait until something happens. Let’s come out prior to,” he said.
City, water department respond
Several vacant properties on the block are owned by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, which acquired the homes for a large green stormwater project to reduce flooding.
In a statement, the department said: “We share neighbors’ sense of urgency in removing these dangerous vacant homes.
We will continue to have crews visit the homes regularly to make sure they are boarded up and secure until demolition can take place.”
The department hopes to bring demolitions to the block this summer, which neighbors say can’t come soon enough.
“Where would you rather go? Where would you rather want your children to be, hanging around this, or a place that’s clean?” Bernard said.
Mayor Mary Sheffield also weighed in on the shooting, saying in part: “No family should endure this. No child should ever know this kind of violence.”