A meeting is taking place at the First Reformed Christian Church on Grand Rapids southeast side.
It’s one of a series of meetings aimed at stopping a recent swell of violence in the city.
At the meeting, Captain Curtis Hertel with the Grand Rapids police told FOX 17 that the department has pretty good leads on almost all of the unsolved murders.
Two cases, however, are in need of help from the public.
More information is needed in regards to the murders on Prince Street and Neland Avenue. Robin Lynn Griggs-Johnson and Gregory Woods Jr. were the victims for each case, respectively.
Earlier in the day, city commissioner Elias Lumpkins said he’s been to a number of community meetings so far. He said he’d never seen such an outpouring from the community taking a stand.
‘They had the young people stepping forward. They were talking about what they needed. They wanted mentors. They needed encouragement from older, more seasoned adults. And most importantly, a lot of them used a lot scriptures to support the arguments they were putting forward,” Lumpkins said.
More meetings are planned as follows:
- February 7: Link will host a dialogue at GR Ford Middle School from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., at 851 Madison Avenue SE.
- February 21: Members of the clergy will discuss congregational care and development at 5:30 p.m., located at 618 Jefferson Avenue SE.
- February 25-28: The Urban League will host a discussion on mental health during the evening, located at 745 Eastern Avenue SE.
