Niles Murray Obituary, Death;- The 17-year-old shot dead in Grand Rapids while attending a memorial for another slain teen was in the “wrong place (at the) wrong time,” his mother said.
She identified him to News 8 as Niles Murray.
The shooting happened around 8:30 p.m. Saturday on Umatilla Street SE near Madison Avenue. Grand Rapids Police Department officers nearby heard the shots and rushed to help, but could not save Murray.
He was with a group was gathered to mark what would have been Amillier Penn’s 17th birthday. Murray’s mother told News 8 that her son knew Amillier, who went by Milli, and that she wasn’t worried about him attending the event.
The police chief said over the weekend that investigators found as many as 100 shell casings at the scene, indicating multiple shooters.
“One consistent theme that I have heard over and over as I walk these streets is that the residents here are absolutely sick of this. They’re sick of the violence here. They’re not going to (put up with it),” Chief Eric Winstrom said. “We have had a ton of cooperation. The 911 calls coming in after the fact provide us with information.
It’s good to see the neighborhood stand up and say they’re not going to tolerate this.” Milli Penn was 15 when he was shot and killed on June 2, 2024, while playing football with friends in Umatilla. Another teen, 17-year-old Cartiyae Pascal, was charged in July of this year with his murder.
“It’s just devastating to everybody on this block and everybody in this city that we had another teenager whose life was taken,” Winstrom said over the weekend. “We have got to do better as a city. I don’t know what to say at this point.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Grand Rapids Police Department or Silent Observer. Detectives can be reached at 616.456.3380. Tips can also be sent safely and anonymously through Silent Observer via their phone line (616.774.2345), website or app.
