On a Thanksgiving evening in 2021, what began as a family gathering ended in a devastating act of violence on a busy Michigan avenue. Sonya Harry, a 52-year-old female, was driving her son, George Michael Harry II, home. As they traveled north on Woodward Avenue, near the border of Royal Oak and Pleasant Ridge, the unthinkable happened. From the back seat of the vehicle, her 22-year-old son allegedly fired a single, fatal shot from a 9mm handgun, striking his mother in the head at point-blank
range.
The vehicle, a Ford Edge, lost control after the shooting and crashed under the Interstate 696 overpass, coming to a stop in the middle of the roadway. The horror did not end there. George Harry II is said to have exited the car and begun firing indiscriminately at other passing vehicles. His alleged actions resulted in a 43-year-old Ferndale woman suffering a gunshot wound to her leg; she was later treated at a hospital and released. In another vehicle struck by gunfire, an infant was present but miraculously unharmed.
Police from Royal Oak and Pleasant Ridge responded to multiple 911 calls about a car crash and arrived to the sound of gunshots. They discovered Sonya Harry deceased inside her vehicle. Her son, George Michael Harry II, was arrested at the scene. He was subsequently charged with open murder, five counts of attempted murder, and multiple felony firearm charges. During his arraignment, a judge denied him bond, calling the charges 'as serious as they can get.' While the motive for this tragic event remained unclear to investigators, the suspect's father suggested to reporters that drugs may have played a role in his son's state of mind that night. The case was set to proceed with preliminary court hearings in December 2021.
