In the late hours of a September evening in 2014, a gathering of family and friends on Patten Street in Detroit, meant to be a solemn candlelight vigil for a recently lost loved one, tragically descended into a scene of violence and further loss. Among the victims was 26-year-old Eric Reed, who was fatally wounded in a barrage of gunfire that erupted, forever altering the lives of his family.
The chaos of that night claimed not only Eric's life but also the lives of two of his relatives, 36-year-old Marquise Reed and 33-year-old Kersilla Marie Reed, a mother of three.
The events leading up to the deadly shooting were a chaotic mix of grief and sudden violence. Witnesses reported that after the vigil, as people were gathered outside a home, a car sped past and shots were fired into the crowd. In the ensuing pandemonium, more shots were exchanged. The violence didn't end on Patten Street; it spilled over to the local hospitals where the victims were rushed for medical attention, with reports of altercations breaking out. In the immediate aftermath, law enforcement made several arrests. Two individuals were taken into custody near the scene of the shooting, and two others were arrested after a vehicle, reportedly seen leaving the area at high speed, crashed, ejecting and killing a female occupant.
Despite the initial arrests in the chaotic hours following the triple homicide, the path to justice for Eric Reed and his family has been a long and arduous one. As of a 2016 press conference held by Crime Stoppers, the case remained unsolved, with no suspects having been publicly named or charged specifically with the murders of Eric, Marquise, and Kersilla. The motive for the shooting, and the individuals responsible for turning a somber memorial into a scene of carnage, remained shrouded in mystery. The family's plea for answers and for justice for their loved ones continues to echo in the silence of a case that has grown cold over the years.
