Officers discovered a man who had been shot dead lying in the middle of a Grand Rapids street when they responded to reports of a shooting Thursday night, police say.
Around 8:30 p.m., the Grand Rapids Police Department responded to Wealthy Street and Hollister Avenue after receiving reports of a shooting. According to GRPD Chief Eric Winstrom, they discovered a man lying in the middle of Hollister who had been shot several times. He stated the man appeared to be in his 20s, but authorities have yet to identify him.
According to Winstrom, emergency medical personnel were called, and attempts were made to save the man’s life, but he was eventually pronounced dead. It is the city’s twelfth homicide.
“It is not something that the City of Grand Rapids wishes to see in 2025. Crime rates are at record lows. But that will bring no consolation to this family, who will be crushed,” Winstrom added.
Primary scene evidence led police to assume the perpetrator was either inside or outside of a car when the incident occurred. Following the shooting, GRPD received allegations from witnesses that one or two vehicles fled the scene. Winstrom said he thought it was a targeted shooting and that there was no immediate threat to the community.
“This is sort of an outlier. This is not a block that we really have any problems on. There is a very large church, which dominates the block, very few calls for service on Hollister Street in this area. … I think likely, this issue probably drove here, whatever the conflict is, whether one individual was on foot and one was in the car, they both arrived in a car, we’re putting that together now, but I believe that this spot, geographically, is unrelated to the conflict,” Winstrom said.
Detectives are scouring the neighborhood and gathering evidence at the location, which includes many shot casings. Gunfire struck one vehicle, according to Winstrom.
It happened in an area with numerous shops, restaurants, and residences. Winstrom stated that this could be useful for gathering surveillance footage. Dispatch is contacting establishments to request access to their surveillance cameras during the shooting.
The GRPD’s Major Case Team is conducting an investigation. Anyone with surveillance footage or information on the incident can contact the GRPD at 616.456.3400 or Silent Observer at 616.774.2345.
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