Organization heartbroken over shooting of 2 canvassers on Detroit's east side

24-year-old man killed, 19-year-old woman injured

DETROIT – A Detroit advocacy organization is heartbroken after two people working with the group were shot while canvassing on the city's east side.

An organization is heartbroken after two people canvassing in Detroit were shot on the city's east side.

A 24-year-old man was killed and a 19-year-old woman was injured in the shooting in the 6000 block of Drexel Street after 7 p.m. Tuesday. The woman was last known to be in stable condition at a hospital.

Police said the man got into a dispute with someone in the neighborhood. The suspect fled after the shooting and was last seen wearing a gray hoodie and running from the location on Hern Street.

ORIGINAL: 2 shot, 1 killed in Detroit while passing out flyers for Good Jobs Now

The man and woman were passing out flyers in the neighborhood. Police do not believe the flyers were the cause of the shooting. Police believe the shooting was not random. They believe the man may have had some sort of previous dispute with people in that neighborhood.

The organization they were working for, Good Jobs Now, said their work will continue.

The organization released the following statement Tuesday:

"In a week filled with so much senseless violence we are devastated to confirm that two members of the Good Jobs Now Family were shot while going door to door encouraging their community to vote and take ownership of our democracy. 

Out of respect for the privacy of the victims and their families at this time we will only share that one of the people canvassing was killed in the shooting and the other is in the hospital. 

All of us at Good Jobs Now are shocked and heartbroken by this violence. Please join us in forming a community of support around the victims and their families. We will share more information about what is needed in the coming days. 

While nothing will undo the harm that’s been caused we remain grounded in our vision for transforming Detroit into a city where we are all free to thrive together. We know that our communities in Detroit have been divested from for decades and that divestment creates crisis. The gun violence in our communities is bred from this divestment. Far too many families across Detroit feel the devastation of gun violence nearly everyday in our neighborhoods. We will honor these heroes by affirming our commitment to justice and love. 

Right now GJN’s focus is supporting the victims, their families, and our community impacted by this tragedy. We ask for your love, understanding and support and we move through this trauma."


About the Authors:

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.