DETROIT — A suspect is now in police custody after a shooting on Detroit’s east side left a mother hospitalized and her 7-year-old daughter fighting for her life following an argument over children fighting.
The violent confrontation unfolded Monday afternoon at an apartment complex on Farnsworth Street near Gratiot Avenue and Van Dyke Avenue.
Police say a man forced his way into the apartment of 29-year-old Alexis Reaves during an argument over an earlier fight between children. Investigators say the gunman shot Reaves in the arm, and that same bullet passed through to strike her 7-year-old daughter, Alayah Porties, in the collarbone.
'They Had to Open Up My Grandbaby's Chest'
Both victims were rushed to local hospitals. Alexis Reaves is recovering up the street at Detroit Receiving Hospital. Meanwhile, young Alayah underwent emergency open-heart surgery at Children’s Hospital of Michigan.
"They had to open up my grandbaby's chest cavity to save her life," said the girl's grandmother, Annette Reaves. "The (bullet) fragments were traveling to her heart. If any fragments would have traveled more, it would have cut her heart and she would have been bleeding out."
A courageous neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous, rushed into the apartment immediately after the gunfire to provide crucial first aid to both mother and daughter.
"I just had to pause my brain like, 'Look, this is dangerous, this is serious. This baby can die,'" the neighbor recalled.
Community Left Reeling
Residents at the complex say the community is devastated, particularly because local children witnessed the aftermath and are deeply traumatized.
"She played with them every day. She was out here, they all were screaming and hollering," neighbor Phyllis Irvin said of Alayah. "The kids have been traumatized over this."
Phyllis and her son, Quinn Irvin, have lived in the complex for decades, calling the violent outburst a tragic and shocking anomaly for their usually quiet community.
"I think as, yeah, as a man we're supposed to have discipline, you know what I'm saying," Quinn Irvin said. "As a man, we're supposed to have discipline, yeah, and try to diffuse the situation."
Suspect Turns Himself In
Late Tuesday afternoon, Detroit Police announced a major break in the case: the suspected gunman turned himself in at the Detroit Police Department's 7th Precinct and is now in custody.
Once police wrap up their investigation, the case will be forwarded to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office for formal charging decisions.
