PONTIAC, Mich. – A man who law enforcement believe may have been involved in the October shooting death of a 16-year-old girl in Pontiac has been arrested on seemingly unrelated gun charges.
UPDATE: Man gets murder charge in Pontiac shooting that killed 16-year-old girl
According to a criminal complaint filed Friday, Nov. 3 by an ATF agent, Pontiac man Jameel Tanzil, 27, is suspected of being involved in a shooting that killed teenager Desiree Childs. At least one other person is believed to be involved in the shooting, but they were not named and did not yet face any charges as of Friday.
Police say that at about 11:20 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28, 16-year-old Childs was shot in the leg and chest while walking home with a friend on South Johnson Avenue near Menominee Road. She was taken to the hospital, where she later died from her injuries. Her friend was not injured in the shooting.
Both the girl’s family and investigators have said they don’t believe the bullets were meant for Childs, who regularly walked around that neighborhood, which is near her home. Police located several cartridge cases on the sidewalk between two homes in the immediate area.
The next day, on Oct. 29, authorities searched a home on Johnson Avenue right where the shooting occurred, and where cartridge cases were found by police. Witnesses reportedly said they saw muzzle flashes come from that area on the night of the shooting.
An unidentified suspect listed in the complaint lives at that home, officials said. Witnesses told police that three men ran over to check on Childs after the shooting, and that two of them got into an SUV parked at that home, which belongs to the homeowner.
An hour before the shooting occurred, the criminal complaint alleges that Tanzil and the “unindicted suspect” were involved in a “traffic accident and assault” at the same location as the shooting. Tanzil was a passenger in the involved SUV and the unidentified suspect was driving, witnesses said, and they both reportedly left the scene before police arrived.
No other details about the traffic incident were provided in the criminal complaint.
During their search of the Johnson Avenue home, authorities found two guns hidden in a backpack underneath the basement stairs, the complaint says. The firearms were test fired by law enforcement and the casings reportedly matched those found at the scene of Childs’ shooting.
Tanzil’s child was present in the home when authorities arrived to search it, officials said. There were three other minor children in the home that belonged to the unidentified suspect. No adults were home when law enforcement arrived.
Tanzil was arrested on Oct. 30, and admitted to police that he was at the home on Johnson Avenue on the night of the shooting, but “denied being involved in the shooting.”
Authorities later searched Tanzil’s “registered probation residence,” which is a Pontiac home shared with his mother and her 8-year-old son. A .22 caliber rifle was found in a cabinet in Tanzil’s bedroom, which authorities identified as being manufactured outside of Michigan, meaning the gun had “traveled in and affected interstate commerce.”
So far, Tanzil has only been charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. The man has been convicted of four felonies over the past few years, and was sentenced to “two years of probation with a suspended prison sentence of one to ten years” in December 2022, the criminal complaint reads.
It is currently unclear if Tanzil was involved in the fatal shooting of the 16-year-old girl. He faced no formal charges related to the shooting as of Nov. 6. It was also unclear if the unidentified suspect was involved, and if they faced any charges related to the shooting.
You can read the entire criminal complaint brought against Tanzil below.
The criminal complaint also says Tanzil is accused of stealing three guns from a co-worker in Auburn Hills in August. It was unclear if any of those weapons were involved in the Oct. 28 shooting.
Last week, loved ones remembered Childs’ kind nature, love for selfies, and dreams of becoming a cosmetologist. A reward of up to $2,000 is being offered for information leading to an arrest in her death.
Investigators asked anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-Speak Up.
Click here if you’d like to donate to Childs’ family.
---> Previously: Pontiac family wants answers in fatal shooting of 16-year-old girl
Full criminal complaint
Below is the entire criminal complaint filed against Tanzil by the ATF on Nov. 3.