Rumors about multiple, overnight shooting injuries in Lansing are false, police say
LANSING — Rumors about multiple overnight shootings in Lansing that spread fast across Facebook and Twitter Monday night and Tuesday morning are not true, police say.
Lansing police confirmed on Facebook Tuesday morning that the many posts, some of which were shared thousands of times, were not true.
The one shooting that took place in Lansing Monday was in Ferris Park, in the 500 block of North Pine, where one teen was killed and two others were injured.
LPD differentiates between shots fired reports and reports of people being injured or killed in a shooting. Lansing Public Information Director Robert Merritt said there were more than a dozen shots fired calls that were all unfounded. There was one call for a shooting with injuries, which was the Ferris Park incident.
Ingham County Sheriff's Office Capt. Greg Harris also confirmed there were no shooting injuries Monday night that the sheriff's office investigated.
Although Merritt said all shots fired calls were unfounded, a family who lives at the Stonecrest Townhomes in the 2400 block of Risdale said they heard and saw gunfire early Tuesday.
Merritt said Tuesday morning he was looking to see if there were reports of damage at Risdale.
Sara Fase, who lives at Stonecrest, said she heard 10 gunshots and saw the flash from some of them at about 2 a.m. Tuesday. She said Lansing police were at the apartments Tuesday morning and collected shell casings.
When she went to look around Tuesday morning, she said she found that three of her neighbors' vehicles had windows shot out. On all three vehicles, the bullet hit the windshield, she said. Bullets went through the back window on two of the vehicles, she said.
"I've never been so scared in my life," Fase said. "They were 10 feet from the window, not even. For me to be able to see the actual flash from the gun, that's how close they were."
Fase was home with her two children and her 3-year-old grandson, she said.
"It's getting too close for me," Fase said. "I'm ready to move out of here."
Mayor Andy Schor confirmed that the reports of other shooters across the city were unsubstantiated.
"Last night a 17-year-old was shot and killed at Ferris Park," Schor said in an emailed statement. "The loss of life is felt by the entire community. Our hearts go out to the family and friends that are directly impacted by this tragedy. We must continue our efforts to prevent the senseless loss of life, and ensure the safety and future of all of our residents, especially our young people.
"There was only one incident, and the Lansing Police Department will do everything they can to find the shooter and any persons that may have been involved."
Other cities around Michigan had similar rumors circulating around social media Monday night and Tuesday morning. Detroit, Battle Creek, Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids all saw similar posts.
Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety posted on Twitter Tuesday, alerting followers that there were no legitimate active shooter reports in any of those cities.
In 2019 in the Lansing area, there have been 10 homicides and 23 shootings resulting in injuries. A fatal shooting from Saturday, where Tyrell Pettway was killed, has not been classified as a homicide.
Five of the 10 homicides took place in the city of Lansing.
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Contact reporter Kara Berg at 517-377-1113 or kberg@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @karaberg95.