GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A family woke up to gunfire entering their living room around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Bullets flew into the home of a mother and her nine children in the 1600 block of Jefferson Avenue on Grand Rapids southeast side. Eight of her kids were staying with her that night.
“It was a little hot upstairs. We all decided to sleep downstairs,” the mother, who asked to remain anonymous, said. “It wasn’t that loud, but it was pretty obvious something wasn’t right.”
She said she heard a ‘ping, ping, ping’ sound coming through the window and glass shattering.
“I jumped and immediately called 911 and grabbed the kids,” she said.
Her kids range in age from 18 months to 12 years old.
It appeared the shooter went inside her enclosed porch to open fire through a second set of windows because the outdoor windows were left untouched. The four holes are visible reminders of what could have been much worse.
“What the heck is going on? Who would do this to me? I have 9 kids in my home,” she said.
She’s not sure if she was the intended target. She’s only lived at her Jefferson Avenue home since late January, but she said she’s already had enough.
“That’s the thing I just don’t understand. Why me? Why my house? What did I do?” she asked.
She wonders what’s next, and if she’ll get a knock at the door.
“Were you aiming for me, or was it intended for someone else? That’s where I’m lost at,” she explained.
“I’m ready to move as soon as possible. I have to go. My kids are scared. We have to go. We’re at the point, we have to go it’s not safe,” she said.
If you have any information about the incident you’re asked to call Grand Rapids police or Silent Observer at 616-774-2345.
