College student fatally shot at Redford Twp bowling alley birthday party
REDFORD TWP., Mich. (WJBK) - WEB UPDATE: A vigil is being held for Bethany Walker, a Farmington Hills Harrison graduate, on Wednesday April 27 at Four Seasons Park at 8:30 p.m. The original story is below.
A college freshman from Farmington Hills gunned down at a local bowling alley.
Bethany Walker was there to celebrate a friend's birthday, instead she was killed, and just a few weeks shy of hers. Police say the bullets started flying after an argument inside the bowling alley. Two men were also wounded.
"She said dad I'm going bowling," said Vernon Walker, her father. "Bowling is fine, not anyplace you'd think anything would happen."
"And a bowling trip turned into the last day she was here."
The parents of 18-year-old Bethany Walker of Farmington Hills say one of their most precious gifts has been stolen by one thoughtless, selfish act.
"God forgive you, that you would disregard someone's life for some sort of satisfaction," said Yolanda Walker, her mother.
The teen was celebrating a friend's birthday at Mayflower Lanes in Redford Township Saturday night. Police say two men began arguing inside and each pulled out guns and fired. Walker was hit - and her friends desperately called her family.
"They were just screaming 'It's bad, it's bad,'" Yolanda Walker said. "And then about 45 minutes later she was gone."
Redford Township police say the two shooters, a 33-year-old Redford man and a 19-year-old from Detroit, were both shot and remain critical Monday.
In the middle of this chaos, Redford Township police say three women running from the bowling alley and flagged them down saying they'd just been robbed. That 24-year-old man, also involved in the argument, was caught and arrested.
As police try and piece together what happened, Walker's family only focused on the life Bethany left behind. She would have turned 19 next month.
Bethany had been busy with school and was working to become an obstetrician.
"She was just finishing up her first year of college at (Oakland Community College)," Yolanda Walker said. "It was finals week. She had a lot of plans."
The life taken way too short, but endless memories for those lives Bethany Walker touched.
"We're grateful for the time we had with her," said her sister Natasha Montgomery. "And it's a blessing to be able to say Bethany was my sister."
"We love her and we miss her and we're going to make sure everything she planned happens."