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Two families mourn after 4-year-old boy and teen killed in Detroit park shooting

WXYZ
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DETROIT, Mich. (WXYZ) — Two families are mourning after a shooting at Skinner Playfield near Denby High School in Detroit left a 4-year-old boy and an 18-year-old dead.

Samir Grubbs, 4, was shot and killed on Friday while at the park with his mother.

"Please, please put the guns down, it's so senseless, it doesn't make any sense," said Jasmine Grubbs, Samir's mother.

"It's so senseless, you took my baby from me," Grubbs said.

Grubbs says her son was full of life and was getting ready to start pre-K.

WXYZ
Jasmine Grubbs

"Samir's smile lights up the room no matter where we went, everybody gravitating toward him," Grubbs said.

"He loved to go to church, loved to go to the park, that's his thing, he wanted to go to church," she added.

Two other people at the park were also shot – a 17-year-old and 18-year-old Daviyon Shelmonson-Bey, who died from his injuries.

"He loved photography, he loved working on mini bikes, he self taught, he was just a very helpful little guy that's all I knew him for," said Joseph Shelmonson-Bey, Daviyon's father.

Joseph was told his son jumped in front of a bullet to save someone from being shot at the park.

"He reacted to protect somebody, something I probably would have did," Joseph said.

Both Joseph and Jasmine are calling for justice for their sons as police continue to look for the shooter.

"We need to speak up in our community to make it better... so we don't have to worry about our kids going through even more of this bloodshed in the community," Joseph said.

WXYZ
Joseph Shelmonson-Bey

"You're taking children away from loving families, families that treat then right, families that care for them," Grubbs said.

Anyone with information that will help police find the person responsible for the shooting is asked to call Detroit Police or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.

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