GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — It was a disruptive evening in downtown Grand Rapids on Saturday, when police say a group of people ages 16-25 gathered, shutting down streets, firing off airsoft guns—and causing trouble for at least four hours.
FOX 17 spoke with community leaders about this incident and the path forward.
On Monday, near the corner of Oakes and Ionia, downtown was quiet. Saturday was a different story.
"This group of kids was fighting, they were drinking, they were blocking traffic. Just generally causing a disturbance," Grand Rapids Police Chief Winstrom said.
As many as 100 people were involved in the group, and Police Chief Eric Winstrom says officers recognized familiar faces from a similar "pop-up party" that happened on the Blue Bridge just a week ago.
The group was dispersed multiple times by officers.
For community youth advocate and Youth Director for Community Kids Jermar Sterling, it's a disappointing symptom of a larger community problem.
“I love our city. I love 616. I love Grand Rapids. So, to hear about another episode, whether it’s real guns, fake guns—it’s still guns,” Sterling said.
Officers reported hearing airsoft gun shots firing, and the police chief tells FOX 17 that some people in the crowd had gel-blaster guns.
"Just generally, annoying behavior," Chief Winstrom said.
Jermar Sterling's entire mission is to help reduce gun violence and youth violence in the city he loves.
“These are our inner city babies. So just nurture them with love,” Sterling said.
Sterling says this incident shows that young people are crying out for someone to care.
“To me, it’s discouraging. Because our teens—they’re just looking for attention,” Sterling said.
Eventually, GRPD arrested five people. One of the people arrested tried to fight with officers, attempting to take a taser, according to the chief.
The group caused problems throughout downtown from 9:15 at night until as late as 3:30 in the morning, the chief said.
“It shouldn’t be no way in heck at 9 o’clock at night—almost 10 o’clock at night, they’re shutting down our beautiful streets,” Sterling said.
Winstrom says much of the event was likely organized on social media.
“Most likely, they communicated with each other on social media. They met at a spot. They were told to move along by police, they met at another spot,” Winstrom said.
This happened at multiple locations throughout downtown.
“Social media plays a huge part. It plays a huge part in what’s going on,” Sterling said.
For Jermar, this shows one thing.
“Those five teens that were arrested. They got some attention. But they’re not getting the proper attention,” Sterling said.
Sterling says that community support is needed. He believes much of what is going on shows a need in the way of community mental health.
“There’s a reason why they shut the streets down. Until we get to the bottom of it, and their emotions, and why they do what they do—the problem won’t get solved,” Jermar said.
Check out our list of community resources available to help in West Michigan.