Detroit Mother Makes Desperate Plea To Find Gunman Who Killed Her Son
DETROIT (WWJ) - The mother of a 20-year-old man who was shot and killed in Detroit is making a desperate plea to the city council, saying she fears her family's lives are in danger.
LaVerne McKinnie said a dark cloud has been hanging over her family ever since her son DaKarie was gunned down on Friday, June 20.
On that fateful night, DaKarie was headed to his girlfriend's house near Wyoming Street and Pembroke Avenue, in a neighborhood near 8 Mile Road and Livernois Avenue on the city's west side. McKinnie said everything was looking up for her son -- he had just landed a job at Chrysler and recently found out that his girlfriend was pregnant.
But DaKarie never made it to his girlfriend's house. He was shot multiple times and left in the street to die.
Days have turned to weeks as McKinnie and her family wait to hear that DaKarie's killer has been caught. As time goes on, McKinnie said it's getting harder to ignore that her son's murderer is still on the streets.
"My family is not safe because these demons are still out there among us, and they're constantly harassing my family," she told the Detroit City Council, clutching ribbons DeKarie won at high school track meets. "I'm afraid for my 14-year-old daughter and myself."
Crystal McKinnie, DaKarie's aunt, said her sister is nearly debilitated by fear -- she has trouble even going out to the mailbox.
"He was a really good kid," she said. "My family, we're not able to sleep knowing that the murderers haven't gotten caught."
Police say an investigation into DaKarie McKinnie's death is ongoing, although no arrests have been made.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.