DETROIT – A Greektown business owner is reacting to the recent gun violence that has led to an increased police presence in the area.
Yanni Dionisopoulos, co-owner of The Golden Fleece and Bakalikon Greek Market and Bar in Greektown, said the recent violence has been challenging.
“There’s no respect for life,” Dionisopoulos said.
In response, Detroit police rolled out a new safety enforcement plan that includes the use of metal detectors and an increased presence.
Read: Detroit police lay out 12-point safety plan to address violence downtown
Dionisopoulos supports the plan, giving credit to the officers that patrol the area.
“This is not trying to do anything else besides provide and ensure everyone’s safety and security,” Dionisopoulos said.
There’s no denying the potential impact the violence could have on Greektown businesses. Last Saturday evening, police closed off Monroe Street to all cars and pedestrians after a fatal shooting inside one of the businesses.
“It was the first time in over one hundred years the parishioners . . . were not able to come to Greektown to get their Easter bread, their Easter lamb, the soup that we do every year for Easter and they were forced to go straight home,” Dionisopoulos said.
That fatal shooting was personal to Dionisopoulos and many others in the Greektown business community. Security guard Daryll Straughter was shot and killed while settling a dispute between customers at Athens Liquor.
Dionisopoulos is planning a vigil for Straughter Sunday at 8 p.m. at the intersection of Monroe Street and St Antoine.
Also: Police launch new safety plan in Downtown Detroit in response to shootings