By: Kathryn Pentiuk | C&G Newspapers | Published February 21, 2024
SOUTHFIELD — A 15-year-old Ferndale resident died Feb. 15 following a shooting at a Southfield hotel several days earlier, police said.
At 8:42 a.m. Feb. 11, Southfield police and fire rescue personnel responded to 1500 Town Center regarding shots fired at a hotel. Officers located a teenager with an apparent gunshot wound. Lifesaving measures were initiated on the scene, and the teen was transported to the hospital. Southfield police confirmed that he passed away four days later.
The victim’s identity will not be released because he was a minor, but police revealed that he was a 10th-grade student at Loyola High School in Detroit. Loyola High School will have access to grief counseling for students impacted by the tragedy.
On Feb. 12, Southfield Police Chief Elvin Barren held a press conference regarding the events that unfolded the day before.
“I’ll be very candid with you. This is very difficult to explain, and I’m not in the greatest mood because of it. Because I have to explain to the community how a group of 15-year-olds are left in a hotel room unsupervised with access to weapons. We see these things play out time and time again, and the story remains the same. Where is the parental supervision, and how do these teens get access to weapons?” Barren asked.
According to Southfield police, the preliminary investigation revealed that the victim was with two other juveniles in the hotel room without adult supervision when he was shot. Police revealed that an adult rented the hotel room Feb. 10 for five underage teens and then left them unattended. Barren said it was one of the juveniles who called 911 after the shooting.
When police arrived on the scene, they located two juveniles at the hotel elevator on the seventh floor and detained them for questioning.
One of the suspects is a Detroit resident, also 15 years old. He was arraigned on two counts of carrying a concealed weapon, and additional charges are expected, police said. Two handguns were located in his waistband, one hidden in his groin area: a Glock 22 .40-caliber handgun with a 22-round extended magazine equipped with a laser light, which had been reported stolen in Flint in June 2022. The second weapon was unregistered.
The second suspect is a 15-year-old Southfield resident.
Southfield police revealed that upon further investigation in the hotel room, they found a .40-caliber shell casing, 20 live rounds inside a 9mm extended magazine, marijuana, hallucinogenic mushrooms and a scale.
“There’s no sense you can make out of a 15-year-old struggling for life,” Barren said. “And this could have been prevented.”
The investigation is currently ongoing, and Southfield police asked that anyone with information contact them at (248) 796-5500, reference case number 24-5073, or call 1-800-SPEAK-UP if they wish to remain anonymous.