KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety is asking for the community’s help tracking down the suspects involved in multiple recent shooting investigations.
Since Monday, June 15th officers have responded to six separate reports of shots fired all ranging from injuries in some incidents to home and vehicle damage in others.
The first shooting occurred just before 3 p.m. Monday in the 1800 block of Vanzee Street near Reed Avenue in Kalamazoo’s Edison Neighborhood. Numerous rounds were fired into a nearby home and authorities believe three firearms were used during the incident. Nobody was injured and it is not known if the house was the intended target.
The second shooting happened about five hours later in the area of Hawley and West North Streets on the city’s Northside around 8 p.m. Monday. When first responders arrived they found five casings in the roadway and believe two different firearms were used during this shooting. Officers say they were unable to locate any victims or any homes that had been struck and there is no suspect information at this time.
The third shooting occurred just before 11 p.m. Monday in the 800 block of East Stockbridge Avenue in the Edison Neighborhood, less than a mile from where the first shooting happened. There officers located 11 casings and say two different firearms were also used in this incident. Witnesses claim they saw two men exiting a late 1990’s or early 2000’s dark colored Chevy Trailblazer and both were shooting at an unknown target. A victim was shot during this incident. A detective tried to reached out to the subject, but he was not willing to cooperate.
The next day, around 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Kalamazoo Public Safety officers responded again to the 1800 block of Vanzee Street near Reed Avenue in the Edison Neighborhood, the same area where the first shooting happened. When they arrived they learned that a shooting took place and a 22-year-old Kalamazoo man showed up at Bronson Hospital with a gunshot wound to the upper chest/neck area. During the investigation authorities arrested a woman who had tampered with evidence at the shooting scene, but details were not released. Officers executed a search warrant at a nearby house and located a handgun and shell casings. Detectives say a gray colored sedan was seen driving southbound on Vanzee and reportedly shot several rounds at the victim who was standing on the sidewalk and then sped away. The gunshot victim was driven to the hospital in a private vehicle and was last reported in critical but stable condition.
Not even two hours later officers were dispatched to the intersection of Frank Street and North Burdick Street on the Northside around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday after another report of gunfire. First responders located 17 fired shell casings in the area. After speaking with witnesses and obtaining video footage, authorities believe the suspect was in a light colored sedan. The video shows the driver following a dark colored sedan when the passenger leaned out of the open window, shot at the dark colored vehicle, and then both vehicles continued northbound. An occupied vehicle that was parked in the area was struck by gunfire, but the occupant was not hit.
The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety is asking anyone who may have information on any of these shootings to contact them immediately. Captain Craig Habel of the Criminal Investigations Division said, “These violent acts put our citizens and public safety officers in extreme danger and we need the communities help in identifying the shooters responsible for these acts.”
Anyone with more information can contact the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety’s Criminal Investigations Division at 269-337-8139 or Silent Observer at 269-343-2100.
