Fatal Battle Creek Shooting Among 3 Linked to Gang Violence
An 18-year-old is dead and three other teens are in police custody following three separate shootings.
An investigation into three separate shooting incidents has found a link to gang violence. The first incident occurred on Sunday, November 14, 2021. Battle Creek Police officers responded to a call in the 500 block of West Jackson Street.
Once on scene, officers located an 18-year-old from Kalamazoo in critical condition from a single gunshot wound to the head. He was alive but unresponsive and was taken to Bronson Battle Creek Hospital. He was stabilized there and transferred to Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo.
Police said the victim, 18-year-old Cameron Williams, was sitting in a vehicle at the time of the drive-by shooting and had just moved to the Battle Creek area. Cameron later died from those injuries.
An autopsy was performed on November 21, 2021, and the bullet was retrieved for pending ballistic testing.
The second shooting took place the following day on the evening of Monday, November 15, 2021, in the 300 block of Chestnut Street. Officers responding to the scene discovered that a vehicle and a house with several people inside were shot multiple times. Altogether, 18 shell casings were recovered from the scene. There were no injuries.
The third shooting occurred on the evening of Tuesday, November 16, 2021. This incident also involved shots being fired at a vehicle and toward a home in the first block of Wilkes Street at around 10:00 p.m. Police collected 21 shell casings at the scene but no injuries were reported.
A 55-year-old man was alone in his house at the time the shots were fired. Neighbors in the area reported hearing the shots and seeing a car sped away from the scene shortly after the shots were fired. A gas meter was struck by bullets, but no fire was reported.
Three people are in custody related to the shootings. Two juveniles and one 18-year-old adult are currently being held by police. According to a release from the Battle Creek Police Department, additional charges are being sought.
Investigators say two vehicles were involved in the drive-by shooting, both of which have been seized. Not only have police linked the three shootings, but investigators say all three are believed to be related to gang activity.
The Battle Creek Police Department is working with the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, and other Kalamazoo law enforcement agencies, to address these acts of violence.