Victim killed at Eastern Market while trying to break up a fight; two dead from a bullet
Detroit – Eastern Market officials are canceling a Detroit Lions tailgate event later this month after a shooting Sunday left two people dead, including a man who tried to break up a fight.
In a statement released Tuesday, Eastern Market officials said they were canceling the Sept. 30 event “out of respect for the victims and their families.” They said they would use the time to work with Detroit police to “implement the necessary safety precautions.”
“In addition, we are working to establish the Eastern Market campus as a ‘gun-free zone’ in the future,” the statement said. “After the Sept. 30 hiatus, we intend to resume the tailgating tradition for the remainder of the season after implementing additional and important safety protocols that will be communicated to the public in advance.”
Rayshawn Bryant was one of two people killed late Sunday afternoon as he tried to break up a fight during a party at Eastern Market. A single bullet killed Bryant and another man, Detroit Police Chief James White said Tuesday.
“By all appearances, (Bryant) was a hero who just wanted to break up a fight, and instead of someone getting a black eye and having a story to tell later because some idiot brought a gun to a party, two people are dead,” White said.
The double murder occurred around 4:30 p.m. at Shed 6 on Riopelle Street, where thousands of people had gathered for a tailgate party following a Detroit Lions game at nearby Ford Field.
A GoFundMe campaign to raise money for Bryant’s children and funeral expenses had raised $11,703 as of 2:45 p.m. Tuesday.
“He was loved by many and well known in the city of Detroit,” campaign organizer Charlotte Coleman wrote on the fundraising website. “He loved his family and left behind two sons, two daughters and a tribe of siblings, cousins, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and parents.”
A GoFundMe representative told The News on Tuesday that the fundraiser would go to Bryant’s family, GoFundMe confirmed.
Only one shot was fired, which, according to White, “logically means that the bullet must have penetrated the first victim and struck (Bryant), although we have not yet received an official response from the (Wayne County) coroner.”
An Oak Park man was arrested by police officers who heard the single gunshot while a traffic cop was working nearby after the Lions game, White said.
DPD officials said an arrest warrant application has been filed with the district attorney’s office. A spokeswoman for the Wayne County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to an email.
Eastern Market is private property and White said the area is not designated as a gun-free zone.
“If they choose to do that, we will take the same measures that we take for gun-free zones at private events or fireworks at Hart Plaza or in our patrols at high school sporting events,” White said. “Whatever they want to do, we will offer them our support.”
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