GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- A man has died after a Monday evening shooting in Grand Rapids.
That incident happened around 9:06 p.m. in the 1600 block of College Avenue SE near Dickinson.
Investigators say two men were doing renovations on a home when they were approached by three suspects in what appears to be an armed robbery. Police say the suspects shot one of the men, a 39-year-old, multiple times, leaving him in critical condition. That victim would later die at the hospital. He has been identified as Kenneth Ray-Daniel Kirkwood.
“Unfortunately this is a very tragic and unnecessary event.," said GRPD Sgt. Terry Dixon. "Our prayers go out to the family - very tragic situation.”
"They were sitting on the porch, they were taking a break apparently, these kids, individuals rolled up on bikes, again short conversation, again how that exactly transpired unknown, and then they went into pistol whipping one of the victims and then shooting the other," said Sergeant Jon Wittkowski with the Grand Rapids Police Department.
The victim who was pistol-whipped was treated and released at the scene.
The three suspects took off from the scene with an undisclosed amount of money and remain on the loose. Police say at this point in the investigation that the victims did not know their attackers.
In the wake of his murder, Kirkwood's family is trying to make sense of the violence.
“We think about his happiness - how he was," said one family member. "An uncle, a brother, a cousin, a nephew a father. He’s all of that to us.”
Family is hosting a candlelight vigil Tuesday at 9 p.m. at 1645 College Avenue, the same location Kirkwood was killed.
“He was a good-hearted person, loved to have a good time," said Kirkwood's niece Crystal Smith. “I just keep in my mind that God makes no mistakes. It was his time to go, and that’s what I keep in my mind as I try to move through.”
Anyone with information is asked to call police or Silent Observer at 616-774-2345.
