GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Two teenagers police say were involved in the May 19 shooting following a graduation ceremony at East Kentwood High School are headed to trial on felony weapons charges.
Shaakir Abdulwahab, 18, and Jacqui Hill, 18, appeared in a Kent County courtroom Monday morning for preliminary hearings on two felony charges each. They have both been charged with carrying a concealed weapon (a handgun), as well as a felony charge of carrying a concealed weapon in a weapon-free school zone.
Each of the felony charges they are facing hold possible penalties of 5 years in prison, and $2,500 fines.
Investigators say the shooting happened just 30 minutes after a graduation ceremony for Crossroads Alternative High School wrapped up at East Kentwood High School.
According to Kent County Sheriff Michele LaJoye-Young, there may have been up to 8 people involved in the incident.
Based on testimony in court Monday, it is believed that Abdulwahab and Hill were walking away from the school in a small group when people in a white Hyundai Sonata drove up and began shooting at them
Two people were shot during the exchange, both believed to be innocent bystanders. A 40-year-old woman from Grand Rapids was hit in the abdomen and wrist, while a 16-year-old boy from Texas was shot in the wrist.
"There was gunfire all over the place,” the mother of a girl who had just graduated said on the stand.
“As I'm walking out of the gates, it sounds like firecrackers are going off, like somebody's throwing firecrackers.”
She spoke in length about seeing a young man in an orange hoodie firing shots and then running from the scene. Prosecutors allege that was Abdulwahab.
Kent County detective Dustin Cook also provided testimony, saying he personally identified Abdulwahab in surveillance footage of the shooting, based on several tips and his own personal experience.
Cook said on the stand that Abdulwahab had previously come up in a cell phone store robbery case he worked in 2020.
Andrew Rodenhouse, Abdulwahab's attorney, asked Cook which party had started shooting first. Cook said that based on his review of the evidence, he believed it was whoever was inside the white Hyundai Sonata.
Cook concurred with Rodenhouse that Abdulwahab's returning fire could constitute self-defense.
“We're not contesting the fact that he had a weapon," Rodenhouse explained.
"We're contesting the fact that they presented any evidence that it was concealed in violation of the statute.”
Neither 18-year-old is actually charged with firing any shots.
Judge Jeffrey O'Hara decided to proceed with all of the charges against both men.
"This defendant (Abdulwahab) was observed inside the graduation ceremony before the shooting, and it is logical to believe that that weapon was not held out in the open, but concealed at that time," Judge O'Hara said.
If you have any information about the additional potential suspects, you are asked to contact the Kent County Sheriff's Office at (616) 632-6100.
You can also submit information completely anonymous through Silent Observer.
