GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A festival celebrating the Juneteenth holiday in downtown Grand Rapids ended early this evening after a person was shot just a few hundred feet away from where the festival was happening.
The shooting is reported to have happened near Ionia Avenue. A victim showed up at the hospital with a gunshot wound, but police say the injuries were not life-threatening.
The scene is across from Heartside Park, where around 1,200 people had gathered for a Juneteenth festival.
However, the shooting did not take place within the festival grounds, authorities say, and festival organizer Duke Turley Jr. assured us that all the festival-goers were safe.
"Nobody was hurt, nobody was trampled over, nobody had broken bones, nobody had scratches," said Turley Jr. "Everybody who was inside this festival walked away safe and sound and I just thank god for that, and I definitely thank my security team for that as well.”
Turley Jr. also talked about the importance of holding a Juneteenth festival and community celebration in Heartside Park and says this kind of violence won't stop them from pursuing thier goals of bringing community together and celebrating the city we all share.
"We purposely had this event, in this space, so that we can change the narrative around here, and I believe we did a great job doing that."
Juneteenth Festival organizer Duke Turley Jr, with Dreams Take Work, responds to shooting outside of festival… (@FOX17)
— Michael E Martin (@MichaelMartinGR) June 20, 2022
“After that happened, we made sure to keep our guests inside until the police actually came.” https://t.co/cApf3wUIdB pic.twitter.com/tV98Jjkhpz
This story is developing. FOX 17 currently has a crew on scene and will update here when more information becomes readily available.
