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High school grapples with shooting death of honor student by speeding driver

Published  October 17, 2016 11:21am EDT
News
FOX 2 Detroit

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (WJBK) - Students wore pink and purple Monday at Sterling Heights High School. It wasn't to dress up for their Spirit Week, though - it was in honor of a 15-year-old student who was killed over the weekend.

Jada Rankin was fatally shot after a family member told a driver speeding down their residential street to slow down.

We're told the confrontation happened around 2 a.m. Sunday on Ardmore Street on Detroit's west side. Family and friends were visiting Jada's grandmother celebrating her brother's birthday.

"They were outside; everyone was getting ready to go home," Jada's grandmother Minnie Hill says. "My grandson was getting ready to get in his car, and the guy sped past him. He said man, be careful, stop speeding, and he (in speeding car) just opened the car door and started shooting. He shot seven times."

Jada, an honor student at Sterling Heights High School, was struck in the stomach. She was pronounced dead later at Sinai Grace Hospital.

"Intelligent. Smart. All As; everybody loved her. She was everything to everybody," says Hill. "Her mother's only ... daughter. She had three sons but she always wanted a daughter, and that was Jada."

We're told Jada had her dress picked out for the school's homecoming dance this weekend, and that she was looking forward to trying out for the volleyball team.

Multiple grief counselors, psychologists and social workers were called in for support Monday for students who need someone to talk to.

"The challenge in this situation for most of the students that know Jada well is she's here one day and gone the next," says Warren Consolidated Schools Superintendent Robert Livenois. "And there really is no answer unfortunately other to be there and to support them and let them express themselves."

Detroit Police say the gunman was in a gray or silver sedan, possibly a mid-2000 Chevy Impala or Lumina.

Police say a woman was in the car with the suspect, and they're hoping she comes forward. If you know anything about the suspect, you're also asked to contact the Detroit Police Department.