In the early morning hours of February 20, 2012, tragedy struck a home on Greenview Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, when nine-month-old Delric Miller IV was killed. The infant boy was inside the residence when at least 30 shots were fired from an AK-47 into the house. Delric was the only person hit by the barrage of bullets and succumbed to his injuries.
At the time of the shooting, there were several other people inside the home.
Immediately following the incident, the Detroit Police Department launched an investigation, with the police chief stating that the shooting was being investigated as gang-related. Investigators believed they had narrowed down the intended target of the violent assault and federal agents joined the case. In the days following the shooting, a person of interest was taken into custody on an unrelated matter, but no arrests were ever made directly in connection with Delric’s death. Community groups also became involved, patrolling the area and encouraging people to come forward with information, while Crime Stoppers offered a reward for any tips that would lead to an arrest.
While the police pursued the gang-related motive, the baby’s grandmother offered a different and equally tragic potential reason for the shooting. She stated that the incident was not related to gangs but stemmed from a dispute over seating at a baby shower that the child's mother had attended earlier. According to the grandmother, an argument at the event escalated, and her daughter was followed to a gas station and then home. The grandmother believes the house was shot up in retaliation for the fight at the baby shower. Despite these leads and the public outcry for justice, the case grew cold. Years later, the murder of Delric Miller IV remains unsolved, and his killer or killers have never been brought to justice.
