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Playground renamed to honor Jada Rankin, who was killed in 2016 shooting

Rankin shot outside grandmothers house

DETROIT – This month, Jada Rankin would have turned 18 years old. 

In October of 2016, Rankin was shot and killed outside her grandmother's house by a speeding driver her brother had told to slow down.

Since that moment, Rankin's family has worked nonstop to find her killer and keep her memory alive. Detroit City Council did something Tuesday that will go a very long way to help accomplish that mission.

As a sophomore at Sterling Heights High, Rankin was a perfect student and poised to become homecoming queen and a kicker on the football team.

When shots were fired into a crowd of her family and friends on Oct. 16, 2016, Rankin was struck by a bullet.

Councilwoman Mary Sheffield said the violence has to stop.

"That park was her getaway, that was her outlet, it was an important day to honor her and lift her spirit because she meant so much to that community," Sheffield said.

Rankin loved helping her grandmother around the house and doing good things in her neighborhood. The whole family would love to see the park dedicated on April 25, when Rankin would have turned 18.

Watch the video above for the full report.


About the Authors
Jason Colthorp headshot

Jason is Local 4’s utility infielder. In addition to anchoring the morning newscast, he often reports on a variety of stories from the tragic, like the shootings at Michigan State, to the off-beat, like great gas station food.

Kayla Clarke headshot

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.

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