Police: Michigan shootings suspect commits suicide

AP ^ | July 7, 2011 | TOM COYNE

[PROCON]

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) - A gunman opened fire in two Michigan homes Thursday, killing seven people before leading police on a high-speed chase through downtown Grand Rapids and later taking three hostages in a standoff that ended when he committed suicide, authorities said. The hostages were released unharmed, said Police Chief Kevin Belk

[newzjunkey]

Not what you were referring to but locally we’ve had a rise in murder-suicides in the past year largely attributed to economic hopelessness.

[Biggirl]

One of the sad sign of the times.

[WaterBoard]

Shocker... "This photo provided by the Grand Rapids police shows 34-year-old Rodrick Dantzler , who police are searching for in connection with shootings at two homes in Grand Rapid, Mich. that left seven dead, including a child, on Thursday, July 7, 2011."

[DarkSavant]

Been in GR for almost a decade. Nothing has even come close in my time here. Scary part was how random it was.

[FrdmLvr]

Well then, they would have been a “West-sider”!

[darrellmaurina]

Yep... traditionally the West Side was Polish and most of the rest of the city was Dutch, with scatterings of other ethnic neighborhoods in various places.

Much of the traditional Dutch neighborhood long ago become a ghetto area, though the Heritage Hill preservation work started “gentrification” of the nicer homes long before that was a concept. Short story is that the 1960s urban renewal movement threatened to destroy many of the most beautiful and architecturally significant homes from Grand Rapids’ heyday as the “Furniture City,” when upper managers and owners of furniture companies spent the money to have beautiful gabling and woodwork done in their homes and the skilled craftsmen took the time to do in their own homes the type of craftsmanship they were doing for their bosses. A lot of the homes have been saved that had been destined for the wrecking ball in the 1960s.

[Balding_Eagle]

This kind of activity usually goes hand in hand with pro-gun legislation being considered in the state legislature.

Anyone know if that’s the case here?

[FrdmLvr]

It is ironic that the Dutch, among the cleanest, neatest, most tidiest people on the face of the earth had their lovely neighborhoods fall into rot and decay and became rundown through neglect and slovenliness when they moved out. A real shame.

One good thing about Grand Rapids being conservative and "slow to change" is that the old homes and the commercial buildings downtown remained in tact and have now been renovated. I remember the urban renewal push in the 60's. Glad it didn't happen. The Heritage Hill district is a jewel, if not somewhat crime ridden. I grew up in the north end (northeast, in the neighborhood where the murders took place) in a "newer" neighborhood, which is now about 85 to 90 years old!

[VanDeKoik]

Today’s now mostly Hispanic SW side was deep Dutch territory. Lots of family lived there in the 70s. The place quickly rotted away once the older hold outs moved over into Wyoming or died off.

[darrellmaurina]

Yep... Grandville Avenue Christian Reformed Church was, if I remember correctly, the last congregation in the CRC to still have one worship service each Sunday in Dutch. (Yes, I know I could Google to check it, but I’m doing something else right now.) The predominant language of that area on the southwest side of Grand Rapids had, of course, long since changed to Spanish rather than Dutch or even English; I was surprised at the time to learn that none of the Canadian CRCs still had weekly worship services in Dutch since they’re almost entirely post-WW2 immigrants. For whatever reason, that one small area in a part of Grand Rapids that was once Dutch had enough people still attending church there who wanted Dutch services long after most of the people had long since moved out of Grand Rapids and into either the cities of Wyoming or Grandville (not to be confused with Grandville Avenue — the road starts in the city of Grand Rapids and leads to the city of Grandville).

[Aliska]

The victims who died (I don’t know how many total):

- Jennifer Marie Heeren, 29, Dantzler’s ex-girlfriend
- Kamrie Heeren-Dantzler, 12, daughter of Heeren and Dantzler
- Rebecca Lynn Heeren, 52, mother of Jennifer Heeren
- Thomas Heeren, 51, father of Jennifer Heeren
- Kimberlee Ann Emkens, Dantzler’s ex-girlfriend
- Amanda Renee Emkens, 27, sister of Kimberlee Emkens
- Marissa Lynn Emkens, 10, daughter of Amanda Emkens

A third woman who had taken out a protective order against him was spared.

Had a history of violence. Sounds like he killed at least one and maybe two of his own children.

[rabidralph]

The police said he targeted his ex-girlfriends and the kids he had with them.

[GeronL]

interesting

[rabidralph]

Typical, crazy relationship crap.

Typical, crazy relationship crap.