DETROIT – A 14-year-old boy nearly died after a bullet passed through his chest, missing his heart by just a few centimeters during a teen takeover in Downtown Detroit last month.

Tavuan Clark is now back home recovering, and he wants other teenagers to hear his story.

“I want to say stop the violence and violence is not cool,” Tavuan said.

The shooting happened around 9:30 p.m. on May 17 near the intersection of Farmer Street and Grand River Avenue. Police say an argument over an electric scooter escalated into a physical fight between two groups of teenagers and gunfire erupted.

Tavuan, a soon-to-be 9th grader, had been hanging out with friends downtown when the chaos broke out.

“Was going to fight again and then I just heard gunshots going off,” he said. “I just know I couldn’t breathe and I had to drop down.”

It took him about a minute to realize he had been shot.

He was rushed to Children’s Hospital of Michigan in critical condition. Doctors worked to stop the bleeding and discovered how close he came to not surviving.

“The bullet went right through his chest, missed his heart by just a few centimeters — and it could’ve been the difference between life and death for him,” said Dr. Scott Langenburg, chief of pediatric surgery at Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Langenburg says children too often don’t survive these situations. On Friday, he joined Detroit Medical Center’s “End Gun Violence” rally, where families and staff were taught how to “stop the bleed.”

He pointed to a deeper problem fueling the violence.

“People reacting, people not controlling their anger and just not being kind to one another,” Langenburg said.

Tavuan’s mother, Tracey Clark, is still processing what happened to her son.

“I’m just happy to have my son and to have him walking around,” she said.

Tavuan spent days in the hospital before returning home.

His recovery is ongoing, but he’s already back with friends and looking ahead to getting back on the football field. His mother has even bigger dreams for him.

“I want to see him succeed. I want to see him go a little further. I would love to see him on the Lions,” Tracey said.

Suspect charged as adult

A 17-year-old, identified as Ramon Javon Perez Smith, was charged as an adult in connection with the shooting.

The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office charged him with Assault with Intent to Murder, Assault with Intent to do Great Bodily Harm, Felonious Assault, Carrying a Concealed Weapon, and three counts of Felony Firearm. His bond was set at $500,000.

A second suspect, a 16-year-old, was taken into custody at the scene and faces juvenile charges for carrying a concealed weapon.

A Wayne County judge has blocked a local heating and cooling company from doing work on a steam line project on Lafayette Park property in Detroit, a ruling some residents of the famed development are cheering.

Detroit Thermal, a company that provides heating and cooling to buildings through an underground network, said it will appeal the decision.

Detroit Thermal wants to upgrade and reconnect a steam line to the 1300 Lafayette East Cooperative. But residents who live in the housing cooperatives designed by famed architect Mies van der Rohe worry the project would damage their community’s landscape because it would involve excavation work.

Earlier this week, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Annette Berry granted a permanent injunction, which the Mies housing cooperatives had sought.

Berry ordered that Detroit Thermal is enjoined, or prohibited, from entering on Lots 19-22 of the Lafayette Park Subdivision, excavating on the lots and using the lots for the purpose of installing a slip line into existing steam pipes.

“I think generally that we feel vindicated and … feel like it was important for us to stand up for our property rights,” said Randy Essex, a resident of the Nicolet Co-op, one of the housing cooperatives.

What is Lafayette Park?

Completed in stages in the 1960s, the Mies van der Rohe Residential District is considered one of America’s most successful post-World War II urban redevelopment projects, according to the Detroit Historical Society. Located east of the Chrysler Freeway and roughly bounded by Rivard Street, Lafayette Avenue, Orleans Street and Antietam Street, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

4Warn Weather – After a prolonged stretch of warm, dry weather across Southeast Michigan, chances of rain and thunderstorms are returning just in time for one of the region’s busiest outdoor weekends.

Motor City Pride at Hart Plaza, along with graduations, sporting events, backyard gatherings, and trips to area parks and lakes, will contend with periods of showers and thunderstorms from Friday evening through Saturday evening before drier weather returns Sunday.

The good news? Neither day will have all-day rain.

Friday will start warm and largely dry across Metro Detroit.

Temperatures are expected to climb into the upper 80s, making it one of the warmest days of the week. Most communities should remain rain-free through at least early afternoon.

Scattered to numerous showers with embedded thunderstorms develop Friday afternoon and continue through Friday night as a weather system approaches from the west.

While an isolated stronger storm cannot be ruled out, Friday’s primary impacts are expected to be periods of rain, lightning, and downpours rather than widespread severe weather.

The greatest coverage of storms is expected during the evening and overnight hours, roughly between 9 p.m. Friday and 1 a.m. Saturday.

Saturday

Saturday remains the day to more closely monitor the forecast and check the 4Warn Weather app.

Following a likely lull in activity during the morning, additional showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop during the afternoon as a weak cold front moves across Southeast Michigan.

Some storms may become strong to severe.

The primary threats include damaging wind gusts up to 60 mph and hail up to one inch in diameter. While the tornado threat appears low, it is not zero.

The highest risk for severe weather covers the southern communities of Southeast Michigan, where a Level 2 out of 5 Slight Risk stretches from the Downriver communities to Monroe and Lenawee counties.

The remainder of Southeast Michigan, including Detroit, Ann Arbor, Flint, Port Huron, and much of the Thumb, remains under a Level 1 out of 5 Marginal Risk, where isolated severe storms remain possible.

An isolated storm could begin developing as early as noon Saturday, but the greatest potential for severe weather appears to be between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Activity should gradually weaken and move out during the evening, ending by around 10 p.m.

For those attending Motor City Pride festivities at Hart Plaza, weather awareness will be important Saturday afternoon.

While many hours of dry weather are still expected, festival-goers should be prepared for temporary interruptions if thunderstorms develop nearby.

Anyone spending time outdoors this weekend should have multiple ways to receive weather alerts.

The 4Warn Weather app can deliver warnings and Exact Track 4D Radar updates directly to your phone, so you can act quickly if severe weather develops.

Remember, if thunder roars, go indoors. Tents, festival canopies, and trees do not provide safe shelter from lightning or severe winds.

A substantial building is always the safest place to be during a thunderstorm warning.

Sunday

Sunday is shaping up to be the best day of the weekend.

Any lingering showers should end Saturday evening, giving way to sunshine, comfortable humidity levels, and afternoon temperatures in the lower to middle 80s. Conditions should be favorable for Pride festivities, outdoor dining, boating, picnics, and recreation throughout Southeast Michigan.

Next week

Looking ahead, summerlike heat is expected to build quickly next week.

Forecast confidence continues to increase that Southeast Michigan could experience its first widespread stretch of 90-degree weather of the season by the middle and latter part of next week.

High temperatures are expected to climb through the 80s early in the week before approaching the lower 90s on Wednesday and Thursday.

Humidity levels are also expected to increase, creating a muggier feel.

People are encouraged to stay hydrated, wear sunscreen, take breaks in the shade, and monitor the forecast for additional thunderstorm chances expected to return mid-next week.

Before the weekend storms arrive, skywatchers may have one more reason to look up Thursday night.

A weak geomagnetic disturbance could allow a faint display of the northern lights, or aurora borealis, to become visible across parts of Michigan. Viewing conditions are expected to be best between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. in areas away from city lights while looking toward the northern horizon.

The farther north in Michigan you travel, the better the chances of catching a glimpse of the display.

Share your northern lights and weather photos with Local 4 at MIPics.