Lansing’s first gun death of the year, sparks more conversations about change

• The shooting happened Apr.10. in the 400 Block of N Sycamore Street. The victim, a 43-year-old man.
• Police have arrested a 37-year-old man in connection to the shooting.
• Watch video above to see how the community is responding to Lansing's first gun death and what changes some want to see.

The Somber sound of wind pipes and candles lit filled the Michigan History Center Wednesday for the 35th annual Michigan Crime Victims’ Rights Vigil.

“This is our crime victims vigil, we do this annually every year to recognize victims of crime in our community and the families that are left behind,” said Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting.

The event, put on by the Prosecuting Attorneys Association Michigan, highlighted the trauma and impact that these crimes have on the community.

One crime in particular seems to be plaguing communities all over our state , gun violence.

Tuesday Lansing had its first gun death of 2024. It happened here in the 400 block of North Sycamore street on Apr.10. The 43-year-old-male victim, shot in the leg, and died almost a week later. Police tell us they've arrested a 37-year-old man in connection to the shooting.

Sycamore Street homicide is now Lansing's first deadly shooting of 2024

“We're seeing an epidemic of violence with guns and we need a better to get a grip on them,” Getting said.

People in our neighborhoods agree.

“We want to be the group, that organization that speaks to you about pro social opportunities,” said Paul Elam with Advance Peace.

Elam runs the Advance peace initiative in Lansing, they do work to prevent incidents like the city's first gun death from happening. Most of that work is done through a fellowship,

“We are running an 18 month fellowship, that target individuals who are at the center of gun violence, with the goal of reducing violence in our community by 40%,” Elam said.

While Elam knows this issue wont be easy to fix, he wants people to know - its never too late to change and if you need help - Advance peace will be expanding.

“The past year, we’ve been focused on the southwest side of Lansing, but we’re beginning to expand out work on the Southeast side of Lansing and pretty quickly on the northwest side of Lansing,” Elam said.