Community reacts to 14-year-old shot and killed

LANSING Mich. (WLNS) – A 14-year-old is dead after a shooting on Saturday, and police have released his name. Community advocates say consistent prevention efforts are key to finding a solution.

The 14-year-old killed was Jaquez Moye-Young. He was shot near the 1400 block of Oakland Avenue. This is the fifth homicide in Lansing so far in 2024 and the Lansing school district did confirm Moye-Young was a student at Lansing schools. Erica Lynn is a co-founder of an organization called The Village Lansing, which works to fight gun violence. She said this issue is something that needs attention year-round.

“An entire community is losing very young people on both ends of this,” Lynn said.

Lynn said it was devastating to hear that another life was taken by gun violence, and just 14 years old.

“They’re not really grown up yet. They’re not even really teenagers yet. And when something like this happens you feel like you didn’t even really get a chance with them,” Lynn said.

The shooting happened Saturday around 3 PM. Police say they got a call for shots fired and when they arrived at Oakland Avenue, they found Moye-Young shot. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

“You want all of the kids in our community to be safe, healthy, and alive. And right now, far too often that’s not happening in Lansing,” Lynn said.

Lynn said Lansing is a tight-knit community where everyone knows everyone, so when moving forward from something like this it’s important to heal but not forget.

“We have to remember history, we have to remember where we come from. That’s why it’s called cyclical and retaliatory gun violence, it is a cycle. And so we have to continue to be strategic, intentional, and we’ve got to be consistent and really stay in it, regardless of the ebbs and flows of the violence in our city,” Lynn said.

How can we help prevent shootings like this from happening? Lynn said this is a layered question, and that’s why another one of her initiatives, Lansing 360 meets to find solutions. These meetings are open to anyone.

“There’s an old saying that says if there are children being thrown in the river, at what point do we go upstream and figure out why they’re falling in,” Lynn continued. “We’re meeting weekly and we are going to figure out strategies, solutions, and resources so that we don’t have to be reactive every time something like this happens.”

Lansing police said no arrests have yet and they do not believe this was a random act. An investigation into the situation, and what led up to it, is ongoing.

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