On the evening of March 7, 2001, four-year-old Shania Salter, a Black female, was at her home on Patton Street in Detroit, Michigan, when a barrage of gunfire erupted outside. The house was riddled with bullets, and one, fired from an AK-47, struck Shania, ending her life. At the time of the shooting, around 10:30 p.m., there were nine other people inside the home, but no one else was injured.
The investigation into the young girl's death was immediately hampered by a lack of eyewitnesses to the shooting itself.
The events that led to the tragic shooting began to unfold earlier that evening. A man named Darnel Wilkins, who also resided at the Patton Street home, had a verbal altercation with three men who appeared to be intoxicated. During this confrontation, Wilkins fired a shot from a. 38 caliber revolver into the air, an act that would escalate the tensions significantly. Following this incident, two men, Rodney Green, also known as 'Hot Rod,' and Timothy Barnes, were heard discussing retaliation against Wilkins. One witness overheard Barnes on the phone with his brother, angrily demanding he bring him his nine-millimeter semiautomatic pistol. Both Green and Barnes were reportedly enraged and spoke of either 'shooting up' or burning down the Wilkins' home.
In the aftermath of the shooting, the investigation pieced together the events of that night, leading to the arrests of Rodney Green and Timothy Barnes. Though there were no direct witnesses to the shooting, testimony from individuals who heard the retaliatory threats proved crucial. Rodney Green was ultimately convicted of first-degree premeditated murder, nine counts of assault with intent to commit murder, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Shania Salter. Timothy Barnes was convicted of second-degree murder, along with nine counts of assault with intent to commit great bodily harm and other related charges. He received a sentence of forty to seventy-five years for his role in the death of the four-year-old girl.
