GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grand Rapids police are investigating three shooting deaths over the weekend, matching the total number of homicides for the rest of the year combined.
“A lot of families have been devastated and impacted by this," Chief of Police Eric Winstrom told FOX 17. "Heartbreaking is the word I'll go with for this weekend. It was a rough one.”
The first shooting happened just before 1 a.m. Sunday in a parking lot on the corner of Cherry Street and Cesar E. Chavez Avenue downtown, just outside two late-night venues.
READ MORE: 2 men killed, 1 hurt after shooting near downtown Grand Rapids bar
According to Winstrom, three adult males in their 20s were shooting at each other. One man died at the scene, another died at the hospital, and a third self-transported to the hospital after getting shot in the leg. That man is expected to make a full recovery.
It appears those three men are the only ones involved, Winstrom said. They have all been identified, but their names have not yet been publicly released.
“It seemed that these individuals knew each other. They knew each other very well. This was not a case of — it doesn’t appear to be a robbery or violence against strangers. This group of three, at least, all had some connection to one another," he explained.
It's unclear what the motive might be, but officers recovered three firearms from the scene — two handguns and "likely a rifle," according to Winstrom. One of the handguns was found in a vehicle.
Later Sunday morning, FOX 17 received video of at least one vehicle being towed from the parking lot. Winstrom is unsure how that specific vehicle was involved, but did say many were impacted.
"There was a firearm in one of the vehicles," Winstrom said. "There were vehicles which were hit by gunfire. That's evidentiary value, so it's possible that they were towed for our forensics teams to pull apart, you know, to get the bullets from the vehicle.”
Later Sunday, around 8:15 p.m., officers received reports of a separate shooting near Umatilla Street and Madison Avenue on the city's southeast side. When they arrived on scene, they found a 15-year-old dead.
RELATED: 15-year-old boy found dead after SE Grand Rapids shooting
Both shootings led to three homicides on Sunday alone. Winstrom said GRPD had investigated a combined total of three homicides all year heading into the weekend. The other three came April 13, April 28 and May 18, according to GRPD.
This does not include the murder of Ruby Garcia, since that occurred on US-131, where Michigan State Police had jurisdiction.
“Last summer, we had — the whole month of June, we didn't have a homicide in June," Winstrom said. "It's been years since that happened, obviously. So three to start the month is heartbreaking. This was a heartbreaking weekend for us, especially coming from the start of the year that was so peaceful, statistically, for us.”
According to data from the FBI, on average, U.S. cities should have about 2.3 police officers per 1,000 residents. That means, at around 200,000 residents, Grand Rapids should have close to 400 officers.
As Winstrom told FOX 17, his department is only budgeted to support 304 officers. As of now, they only have 286 on the force, with a handful more getting sworn in June 20.
That number might seem low, but it's significantly higher than the 267 officers on the force when Winstrom took over as chief of police in March 2022.
“As we've increased staffing, downtown has been one of our priorities for high-visibility patrol," Winstrom said. "Once we start reaching those budget goals, you'll see more and more officers, and I think you'll see not only a greater feeling of safety but actual safety as well.”
Winstrom said they are looking for witnesses to come forward to help with investigations for both the downtown shooting and southeast-side homicide. That includes people with cell phone footage of either incident as well.
You can either reach out to GRPD directly at (616) 456-3380, or submit a tip (anonymously, if you prefer) through Silent Observer at (616) 774-2345 or through their website.
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