In what has been described as a senseless act of gang-related violence, seven-year-old Ariah Jackson was fatally shot on Friday, March 18, 2022, in Pontiac, Michigan. The young girl had just returned home from school with her mother and three other children when the incident occurred.
That afternoon, Ariah's 30-year-old mother had picked up her two children and two nieces from the school bus stop. She noticed an orange SUV with two men inside drive past them.
As she pulled into her driveway on Paddock Street, the same vehicle approached, and a passenger leaned out the window, firing at least six shots into her car. Ariah, who was sitting in the back seat, was struck in the back of the head. Her mother sustained a graze wound to her head. The other three children in the vehicle, aged six, seven, and eleven, were unharmed. Ariah's father carried her into their home before deputies arrived. She was rushed to a local hospital in a patrol car but was pronounced dead a short time later.
The investigation into the shooting led authorities to identify members of a street gang called '4-Block.' Three individuals were subsequently arrested in connection with Ariah's death. Justin Jayshon Rouser, 19, of Pontiac, was identified as the suspected shooter. He was apprehended while attempting to flee a residence in Troy, wearing a ski mask to hide his identity. JaJuan Calvin McDonald, 17, of Pontiac, was identified as the getaway driver. He surrendered to police on March 28. The third individual taken into custody was 21-year-old Daejion Markese Bryant of Troy, who was arrested for lying to police during the investigation.
Rouser and McDonald faced multiple felony charges, including first-degree murder and assault with intent to murder. McDonald, despite being a minor, was to be tried as an adult. Bryant was charged with lying to a peace officer during a violent crime investigation. Authorities have stated that there was no connection between the suspects and Ariah or her family, and that the shooting was the result of gang violence where innocent individuals became the tragic victims.
