DETROIT – Loved ones gathered Monday in Detroit to remember and honor Alexandria Johnson, a young woman recently killed by a stray bullet fired during a shootout.
On Friday, Aug. 25, Johnson was working at Sloppy Chops Restaurant on West McNichols Road in Detroit when a group got into a gunfight outside. A stray bullet fired amid the shootout made its way into the restaurant and struck Johnson.
She died from her injuries.
During a vigil held Monday, Aug. 28, for Johnson, family and friends remembered the young woman as kind, loving, and beloved.
“Alex was the sweetest person you would ever meet. She was so lovable,” said friend Roganique Payne. “This is what she loved. She loved all her people, all her friends and family sitting together.”
Friends and family gathered in support and prayer on Monday, and released silver and white balloons in Johnson’s memory. The woman’s mother, Charlotte Johnson, expressed gratitude to the more than 100 people who came to the vigil.
“Thank you for today, the planners, for thinking about us and thinking about Alex, because it helps to know that it’s not just her family that’s gonna miss her,” Charlotte Johnson said through tears. “Thank you so much.”
Amid the pain and support, loved ones expressed their frustration at the ongoing issue of gun violence in the Detroit community and beyond.
“You could be at the wrong place, at the wrong time, and not even make it home at night -- and that’s just the most out of control thought you can have, that you won’t even make it home,” said family friend Ashley Washington. “No one should feel like that, especially when they’re working.
“This has to end in the city of Detroit. Kids, women, elderly -- bullets have no name.”
At the same time as Monday’s vigil, community leaders were gathered for a town hall in Detroit to discuss the end of gun violence in the city. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said one of the biggest problems is that people believe it’s OK to settle scores and arguments with gunfire.
To help make a change, the city is launching a community initiative in an effort to decrease gun violence.
---> City gambles $10M on community initiative to help fight gun violence in Detroit
Two other people were injured in the gun fight outside of Sloppy Chops Restaurant last week. They were expected to recover.