KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – A murder suspect is in custody, after Kalamazoo police say he shot and killed a woman in her home Friday, prompting an Amber Alert for his and the woman’s 1-year-old child.
Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Chief Vernon Coakley says 32-year-old Eric James Smith turned himself in at the KDPS headquarters around 3:20 p.m. Friday. The child was then located, unharmed, at the home of a relative.
Coakley said the suspect shot and killed a woman in her home on East Emerson Street near Burdick Street in Kalamazoo. Both the victim and the suspect were the parents of a 1-year-old who went missing from the scene. An Amber Alert was sent out for the child.
In a statement Friday evening, Coakley called for an end to “senseless gun violence.”
“Kalamazoo, we have to seriously talk about gun violence in our community. Another senseless homicide in our community today. Let’s have real talk about gun violence,” he said. “Kalamazoo, we gotta do something different. We are strong, we are better than where we are. This senseless — and I said senseless — homicide, a loss of life in our community. Let’s do better. Let’s help one another, let’s be strong Kalamazoo.”
