DETROIT (WXYZ) — A family is left devastated, and Detroit police are searching for answers after a double homicide on the city's east side on Wednesday afternoon.
Watch Darren Cunningham's video report:
Police said the siblings were gunned down in two separate vehicles in what appears to be a targeted attack. No arrests have been made.
The victims have been identified by family as 33-year-old Raye Johnson and his sister, 27-year-old Tacoreya "Rita" Johnson. For their cousin, Tonia Brown, the loss is immeasurable.
"(Rita) was like my sister. We were together every day. Like, you seen her face, you seen mine's," she said.
Brown described Rita as "a good spirit."
"She’d help anybody. She’d give the clothes off her back," she explained.
Brown said she was headed to meet Rita when her grandmother called, asking about rumors of a shooting. Moments later, Brown said she saw footage of Rita’s car on the news.
"I didn’t know what to think. I was just on the phone with her, telling her I was about to come meet her in like 10 to 15 minutes to get ready for a rideout we’re having today," she said.
In a cruel twist of fate, Raye and Rita were preparing to gather the very next day for a balloon release, marking nearly four years since a friend died in a car crash. Now, they are being mourned.
Police believe the shooting was targeted. The siblings were in separate vehicles outside of a relative's home. They also believe the suspect was on foot and fired at least 12 rounds. That’s all investigators are saying at this point.
Brown believes the incident stemmed from a public feud online. It's a feud, she said, Rita had no part of.
When asked what may have led up to this shooting, Brown said, "I’m not really sure. I just know it was some [social] media stuff going on."
"I hope this is a lesson to everybody in the world," she added.
Brown said Rita was caught in the middle.
"Definitely was. She should never even been here. Just, ya know, wrong place at the wrong time," she said.
But amid the horror, there was a miracle. Police said Rita’s one-month-old baby boy was in the backseat of her vehicle during the reign of bullets. He was physically unharmed.
"And her baby was in the car. You have no empathy, no sympathy at all," Brown said. "He’s fine by the grace of God. God protected him, and he’s here. He’s living. Now we have to raise this child and let him know that his mother was a wonderful woman."
Investigators do not have a suspect description yet, but are scouring neighborhood surveillance cameras for leads as the hunt continues for Raye and Rita’s killer.
When asked what her message to the killer is, Brown said, "Justice will be brought, and I hope you think about what you did.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAKUP.
