GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Family, friends and loved ones gathered at the former Saint James Church Friday evening to say their goodbyes to Santino Ysasi.
The Grand Rapids Police Department says Ysasi’s body was found Wednesday morning near the intersection of Bridge Street and Gold Avenue.
Investigators have since ruled Ysasi’s death a homicide.
READ MORE: Police identify man found dead in GR, ruled a homicide
“We all got to get out there and find this person so Tino can rest,” Leslie Youngblood, Ysasi’s cousin, told FOX 17. “This is a tragic, tragic feeling.”
Ysasi’s loved ones say even though he didn’t have a home, he always had a way of welcoming people into his life.
“He had a way to make you feel whole when you were broken and that’s what we are going to all miss,” Youngblood added. “It was uncalled for. This was senseless violence.”
Meanwhile, Ysasi’s murder is setting off alarms with GRPD.
“When I hear of a homeless person being killed, and I don’t know all the facts, it really brings, you know, it really scares me that there really could be an unhinged psychopath,” GRPD Chief Eric Winstrom told FOX 17 Friday. “We also have the HOT team going out and proactively reaching out to our unhoused community to tell them as much as they can about that incident, to ask for information too, if they have that information, but also just to put them on notice.”
Chief Winstrom used to work in Chicago, and he says he has concerns about this case based on previous experiences.
“It really brings up this fear because there is sometimes, in the history of areas where there’s a lot of unhoused individuals, there are, you know, unhinged people with psychopathic tendencies that prey on homeless individuals,” Chief Winstrom added. “This might sound silly but use a buddy system, you know, find somebody that you trust and because this individual, you know, there was no one with them when they were killed and having somebody just nearby, within earshot, is important, and if they’re able to do that, you know, do that. Be extra aware of your surroundings.”
