Detroit, MI
Victims of largest mass shooting in Michigan history said they couldn’t see shooter
Detroit — None of the eight victims who testified Tuesday about being injured in the largest mass shooting in Michigan history said they saw who shot them, instead describing a chaotic scene with too many gunshots to count.
Diamond Cheatham said “it was so many I can’t remember,” noting it was at least more than 20 shots. She did not know where the shots came from. Chelsea Jackson said she heard “probably about over 100 shots.”
The victims testified Tuesday during the preliminary examination for Demetrus Shaw, the only person charged so far in what prosecutors characterized as an ongoing investigation into a mass shooting at a July 7 block party in Detroit that left two people dead and 19 injured. Detroit police have said they believe the shooting stemmed from a gang dispute.
Shaw, 19, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, 19 counts of assault with intent to murder and 21 counts of felony firearm. If convicted, he faces life in prison.
The homicide victims were Shanae Fletcher, 20, of Harrison Township and Phillip Arnold, 21, of Detroit. Among the non-fatal shooting victims were a 16-year-old girl, two 17-year-old girls, a 17-year-old boy, a 19-year-old woman, two 20-year-old women and two 22-year-old men, all of Detroit; a 17-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy, both of Clinton Township; two 18-year-old women from Eastpointe; a 20-year-old Oak Park woman; a 21-year-old woman, a 21-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman from Highland Park; a 21-year-old woman from Southfield; and a 21-year-old woman from Chesterfield Township.
Shaw’s attorney, Mohammed Naser, asked each of the victims if they were treated for their injuries before or after they spoke to police. He declined to comment after the preliminary examination ended Tuesday, noting it was still ongoing. It will continue Wednesday with three remaining witnesses.
Police arrived just after 2:30 a.m. July 7 at Rossini Drive near Gratiot Avenue for a report of a shooting. Some of the victims had already left the scene before police arrived, being driven to the hospital by friends or other party-goers. Others, like Fletcher, were left behind.
Detroit Police Officer Daniel Havern said Fletcher was not breathing and had no pulse when he arrived. She was bleeding from the head.
Jawan Mitchell said he was shot in the leg next to his cousin, Arnold. He had only been at the party for a few minutes before the shooting began.
“I was laying on my stomach, and by the time I turned to my back, he was talking to me and his last words were ‘cuz I love you.’ And that’s it,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell, like the other victims who testified Tuesday, said he did not see who shot him. But he could tell the shots came from the direction of the driveway across from him.
Mitchell was the only one of the victims who testified Tuesday who said he had a gun, but he did not fire it because he couldn’t see the shooter. He said he saw someone run and hop a fence after the shooting stopped.
Starkesha Charleston was grazed in the head, and her older sister Starlitha Charleston was shot in the arm and back. Starkesha said her friend, who did not testify Tuesday, also was shot. The three of them had been there for only a few minutes before the shots started.
“I was running,” Starkesha Charleston said of the moments after the first shot came. “Most of us were shot so we couldn’t do anything but run.”
Chelsea Jackson, who had been shot in the thigh, said she fell to the ground and had to crawl behind a bush to hide as the shots continued. Someone carried her into a nearby house and she stayed there until an ambulance took her to the hospital.
Darah Orr and Mariah Ruffin said they didn’t see anyone shooting, but Orr said “clearly there was more than one shooter.” Neither prosecutors nor Naser asked the women why they believed there was more than one shooter.
Ruffin was shot in the leg, and Orr was shot in the right forearm.
“I was running to get in front of another car,” Orr said. “The area I was in was too open so I was trying to take cover.”
Ruffin said she crawled behind a bush after she heard the shots start. She hadn’t realized at first that she had been hit, until she went to scratch her leg and her hand came back bloody.
“I ran,” Ruffin said of when she heard the shots. “Everyone was running every which way.”
Shaw is also charged with the May 31 nonfatal shooting of a 37-year-old Detroit man on Collington Drive in Detroit.
The shooting on Rossini Avenue was one of several violent incidents at Detroit block parties during the Fourth of July weekend. Following the incident, Detroit police officials required officers to participate in the department’s Mobile Field Force, the unit that handles block parties and large gatherings.
Prior to the shooting, officers volunteered for the detail, although the department was shorthanded during the holiday weekend because officials said there weren’t enough officers staffing the unit.
kberg@detroitnews.com
Detroit, MI
Detroit Lions Sign QB Teddy Bridgewater To Backup Jared Goff in 2026
The free agency tampering period has begun for the NFL, and the Detroit Lions are among the active teams acquiring players as they try to get back to the playoffs after they did not meet their own standard for last season.
On Monday, it was revealed that 2025 Lions backup quarterback Kyle Allen was heading to Buffalo, leaving another hole in the roster to fill. Nearly 24 hours later, that hole has been filled, as veteran quarterbackTeddy Bridgewater is heading back to Motown.
Bridgewater spent the 2023 season with Detroit, in what initially was going to be his final season in the league.
However, after coaching Miami Northwestern Senior High School to a state championship in Florida during the 2024 season, he announced he was planning to unretire, and Detroit picked him up for their push towards the top seed in the NFC.
Bridgewater then resigned as head coach at Miami Northwestern and signed with Tampa Bay to backup Baker Mayfield last season.
He appeared in four games last season, throwing 15 passes for the Buccaneers, which were his first NFL pass attempts since 2022.
Bridgewater is a safe option at backup quarterback in Detroit, as the former Rookie of the Year has had a steady career since entering the league with Minnesota out of Louisville in 2014.
Bridgewater returns to back up Jared Goff under new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, as this is a situation where Detroit stuck with a player they knew. For Petzing, this is not the first time coaching Teddy Bridgewater, as he was an offensive assistant with Minnesota when they drafted Bridgewater in 2014.
A leg injury derailed his career after a Pro Bowl season in 2015, but he has started 37 games since the injury as a journeyman. Bridgewater left Minnesota and Drew Petzing and would overlap with Dan Campbell when the quarterback played for New Orleans in 2018 and 2019. In addition to Minnesota, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, and Detroit, Bridgewater has also played for Carolina, Denver, and Miami.
Detroit stuck with a safe and familiar option in Bridgewater, as a majority of their offense, alongside most of their offensive staff, have worked with the quarterback before. If Bridgewater is turned to in any situation, there will be full confidence in the Louisville product to make the right play.
NFL Draft Implications
This puts Detroit in a unique position when looking ahead towards the NFL Draft, as a popular mock draft pick for Detroit was taking a quarterback, with Cole Payton, Luke Altmyer, and Taylen Green all being among the names mentioned.
Bridgewater is an excellent mentor alongside Goff, but having three quarterbacks on the Lions roster after injury-riddled campaigns in the last two seasons may not be the wisest allocation of a roster spot.
For the time being, Detroit has their backup quarterback for the season, and there is not a better option than Bridgewater when it comes to familiarity and adaptability. While the former Pro Bowl quarterback has yet to throw a pass in Detroit, he has the familiairity and trust of the coaching staff to be a backup entering a pivotal year.
Detroit, MI
Detroit ‘Sloppy Chops’ restaurateur\u00a0killed: What to know
How to anonymously submit a tip to Crime Stoppers of Michigan
Here are the three ways to submit a tip to Crime Stoppers of Michigan safely and anonymously: by phone, online, and through the P3 Tips mobile app.
Mourning continued and no suspects were in custody a week after the fatal shooting of Detroit restaurateur and nightlife figure Mikey “Mike B” Brown at the end of February.
Brown was the beloved figure behind the “Sloppy” brand of restaurants, and remembrances have been rolling in online since his death.
Here’s what to know:
Shooting outside cocktail bar
“Mike B” Brown, 51, and two others were shot about 4:30 a.m. Feb. 28 in the area of 15789 Schaefer, police previously said.
The two others were found in front of the location, and Brown was found across the street, police said.
Police have asked those with information on the shooting to come forward.
There were no suspects in custody and no further updates in the case as of Monday, March 9, according to a statement from the Detroit Police Department.
Updates on the conditions of the two other individuals shot were also not provided.
Who was Mikey ‘Mike B’ Brown?
Brown was a husband, a father of five and a restaurateur.
He opened Sloppy Chops Restaurant, a steakhouse, in 2020 on West McNichols off the Lodge Freeway and later opened a seafood restaurant called Sloppy Crab, which was renamed the Crab Sports Bar, on East Jefferson Avenue near the Renaissance Center. Brown previously had two clubs, as well.
His downtown dining spot served as an answer to questions on offerings for Black diners in the city’s renaissance. His other “Sloppy” location showcased successful reach beyond downtown and into the city’s neighborhoods. Brown was also a cultural figure in not only the world of dining, but in the nightlife, the Free Press reported.
When are funeral services for Mikey ‘Mike B’ Brown?
A family hour was set for 9 a.m. March 13 and a funeral was set for 10 a.m. March 13, both at Triumph Church –North Campus at 15600 J.L. Hudson Drive in Southfield.
What’s been the fallout since Mike ‘Mike B’ Brown’s death?
Outside of the community hurt, there’s also been calls for a crackdown on establishments that stay open into early morning hours in residential areas, ClickOnDetroit reports.
How to report tips on Mikey ‘Mike B’ Brown’s shooting
Those with information tied to the triple shooting can contact the Detroit Police Department’s homicide unit at 313-596-2260 or submit anonymous tips through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-Speak-Up or DetroitRewards.tv.
Detroit, MI
Detroit Lions need backup QB as Kyle Allen to sign with Bills
Former Detroit Lions QB Hendon Hooker reflects on his time in Detroit
Former Lions QB Hendon Hooker joins to discuss his time in Detroit and Amon-Ra St. Brown’s skill on the basketball court.
The Detroit Lions will need to find a new backup quarterback. Kyle Allen, the 30-year-old ninth-year veteran, will reportedly sign with the Buffalo Bills for two years and $4.1 millions, according to ESPN, reuniting him with his former coordinator Joe Brady.
Allen, who came to the Motor City a year ago after inking a one-year deal, appeared in just three games and attempted two passes this past season as starter Jared Goff logged 98.5% of the team’s offensive snaps at quarterback.
Allen’s greatest contribution came in the preseason, when he forced the organization to give up on its experiment with Hendon Hooker.
In the competition for the No. 2 job, Allen outperformed Hooker and made the former 2023 third-round pick expendable by bringing his stunted development into sharp relief. While Hooker struggled to move the offense when he was in command, Allen thrived in his four auditions, spearheading one productive drive after another for the Lions. He completed 79.5% of his attempts, throwing for 401 yards and five touchdowns with two interceptions. All the while, he exhibited a good understanding of the Lions’ timing-based passing game, giving management the confidence he could – if needed – relieve Goff in a pinch.
“I feel very comfortable with him,” Campbell said last August.
But as it turned out, the Lions were never forced to call upon Allen. Goff, who hasn’t missed a start since Week 17 of the 2021 season, remained reliably present.
The Lions hope Goff’s iron-man streak will continue.
But if it for some reason ends, Allen is no longer there to replace him.
Contact Rainer Sabin at rsabin@freepress.com. Follow him @RainerSabin on X.
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