Mother of Detroit block party shooting victim wants answers

DETROIT (WXYZ) — Three months have passed since the largest mass shooting in recent Michigan history.

This summer, more than two dozen people were shot at a block party in Detroit that was never legalized by police. Two people died as a result of the shooting.

Watch our coverage in the video below of the violent weekend in which three people were killed and two dozen others injured:

Illegal block parties in Detroit over July 4 weekend left 3 dead, 24 injured

Now the mother of one of those victims is speaking out, pleading with the community to speak out about what happened that fateful night.

“You took a life that I gave,” Gamerise Young said through tears. “It wasn’t yours to take.” It wasn’t yours to take.

Young’s son, Phillip Arnold Jr., was murdered at an unauthorized block party in July.

Hear Young more in the video player below:

Extended interview: Phillip Arnold Jr.’s mother pleads for justice after son’s murder

“We are broken. You broke us,” she said.

Arnold was one of 21 people shot at the party after someone shot into a crowd full of people.

Her mother said no one came forward with information about the shooting, so she went to Crime Stoppers to ask the community for help.

“Help us get justice. Help me be able to tell my boys that the people who hurt their brother won’t hurt anyone else,” Young said as he stood at the Crime Stoppers podium.

The shooting was one of several that occurred over the summer as part of a series of illegal block parties that turned violent.

In September, I brought together all the families of the block party victims with Detroit Police Chief James White because they said no one was contacting them.

The department launched a program called FAMLE, an expanded unit within the homicide department specifically designed to stay in touch with families about their loved ones’ murder cases.

Watch September’s story on the new unit in the video below:

New DPD unit will focus on communicating with families of crime victims

After Young spoke to Crime Stoppers on Wednesday, I sat down with her for the first time since the new unit was announced.

“My expectations are a little different than other families,” she said. “I don’t expect to be called every week, every two weeks, every three weeks just to find out what you’ve discovered over that period of time. What has changed since the last time?

Young said she believes the “no-snitch mentality” has a lot to do with why her son’s case has yet to be solved.

“I know your mentality of not wanting to report. You don’t want to say it,” she said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the FAMLE program at 313-596-2260 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.