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Family calling for justice two years after deadly shooting
Southfield Police Chief Elvin Barren said one of the detained minors was in possession of two firearms. One of the guns was reported stolen out of Flint in June 2023, while the other weapon was unregistered. One of those guns was found to be the one that killed Johnson, Barren said.
(FOX 2) - A Metro Detroit family is still demanding justice nearly two years after their son was fatally shot inside a Southfield hotel room.
Tyler Johnson was 15-year-old when he was killed. There were four other teens inside the room when the shooting took place, but police have not made an arrest.
The backstory:
Two of those teens fled after the shooting, while two others were detained near the elevator.
Southfield Police Chief Elvin Barren said one of the detained minors was in possession of two firearms. One of the guns was reported stolen out of Flint in June 2023, while the other weapon was unregistered. One of those guns was found to be the one that killed Johnson, Barren said.
Further investigation in the hotel room revealed a spent 40 caliber shell casing, 20 live rounds inside a 9mm extended magazine, marijuana, psychedelic mushrooms, and a scale, police said.
The teen who had the guns was charged with carrying concealed weapons, but no other charges have been filed.
Barren said the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office hasn't been able to charge anyone because investigators don't know what transpired inside the hotel room.
"We have physical evidence. We have circumstantial evidence. What we need is an eyewitness to bring those things together," he said at a press conference a year after the shooting.
According to Barren, the parents of the four teens who were with Johnson have retained lawyers, and no one is talking to investigators.
What's next:
The week of Feb. 8 marks the two-year anniversary of the tragedy and despite there being eyewitnesses to the shooting, police say they did not have sufficient evidence to make an arrest because the witnesses were not talking.