RANCE ALLEN

BENTON HARBOR, MI -- A mother and her two children died in a house fire early Sunday morning in Benton Harbor, according to police. At 4:53 a.m., Benton Harbor Department of Public Safety responded to duplex on fire at 185 Bellview. A family of four lived in the upstairs apartment, Public Safety Director Dan McGinnis said in a statement. The victims include a 30-year-old mother, a 15-year-old son, and a 12-year-old daughter. The father is the sole survivor and is being treated for smoke inhalation and a minor injury, McGinnis said.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A man has been hospitalized after being shot in the chest on Halloween night. Grand Rapids police were dispatched at 8:22 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31 after a caller described shots fired and a man down on the ground in front of a residence in the 800 block of Oakhill St SE. The man, 48, told police a man drove up on a moped and opened fire. He was taken to Mercy Health Saint Mary’s hospital with a life-threatening gunshot wound to the chest, according to police. More on MLive:Kentwood man dies after crashing into a treeFamed gospel singer Rance Allen, a Michigan native, dies at age 71New coffee shop opens in Grand RapidsTrick-or-treaters get masks, sanitizer with candy this year at Halloween block party in Kalamazoo

GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Police were dispatched to a fatal crash just after Halloween in Grand Rapids. A single vehicle crashed into a tree, according to the Grand Rapids Police Department. The passenger, a 47-year old Kentwood man, later died from his injuries, according to police. The driver was treated at a local hospital for serious injuries, according to police. Alcohol appears to be a factor in this traffic crash, according to police.

NEW YORK – Gospel star Rance Allen, whose Rance Allen Group drew upon contemporary sounds for such 1970s hits as “Ain’t No Need of Crying” and “I Belong To You” and anticipated such crossover gospel artists as the Winans and Amy Grant, has died at age 71. Allen was a longtime Toledo, Ohio resident and most recently bishop for Church of God in Christ for the Michigan Northwestern Harvest Jurisdiction. “I am so sorry to hear of the passing of Gospel Great, Bishop Rance Allen,” singer Gloria Gaynor tweeted. On “Just My Salvation,” the Allen Group reworked the Temptations melancholy love song “Just My Imagination” into an uptempo hymn. On his own, Rance Allen was nominated for a Grammy in 2009 for best gospel performance for “I Understand,” which featured Mariah Carey and BeBe Winans among others.