GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Bailee Majeske has only one message to the people who injured her during the riots on Saturday night in Grand Rapids.
“I hope that you guys find peace in your hearts and don’t hurt other people, especially people who don’t deserve it,” she said during an interview with FOX 17 on Monday.
Majeske said she initially went to the protest and rally that afternoon to show support.
“I’m passionate about the cause, the Black Lives Matter movement,” Majeske said. “The police brutality and all of the inequalities that happen today are not OK and really need to come to an end.”
She and her friends stuck around for bit until it got dark. Then once the windows of a store were busted, that’s when the rioting began, she said.
“That was when my friends and I realized that it was probably time to go,” Majeske said. “So we’re trying to make our way back to the car. We were parked across the street from the courthouse.”
Police began using tear gas and in all that she couldn’t find all of their friends outside of the ones she was with.
She said they were trying to make their way back to the car when they got a little lost and ran into a group of rioters.
“They started smashing in cars that were outside of the courthouse,” Majeske remembered. “There was a lot of rioting, just cars parked in the street were getting smashed. And then there was a brick thrown at my head and my friend was stabbed.”
FOX 17 spoke to the friend who was stabbed over the phone. He said that he was trying to protect people and the brick that was thrown was meant for him.
Majeske said she was scared and remembers one of the rioters saying that they’ve would’ve shot her if she wasn’t a girl.
To make matter worse, Majeske lost her keys, she said.
“So I was stuck on the side of the road with blood coming out of my head,” Majeske said. “My friend continued running because he was being chased with knives and hid in some bushes until he could find someone to take him into the emergency room.”
Majeske said her phone died so she used a passers-by phone to call her uncle who came to pick her up.
Her friend who was stabbed said he tried earnestly to get help from the police but they didn’t help him.
Both wound up in the hospital that night, Majeske said. She received staples to her head. Her friend remained in the hospital longer than she did.
Majeske said they’re both recovering now and she hopes in the future that when people see riots begin, they’ll head home.
“I would say to continue supporting this movement because it something that needs to happen,” Majeske said. “But keep yourself safe. If you notice there are riots breaking out, it may be time to go home and support from a distance.”
***FOX 17 is working to provide Majeske’s friend’s story to our viewers soon.***
