There were just 4 homicides in the city of Kalamazoo, and 11 in the county, going into August. But August started out rough, and the last week of August was particularly violent in the Kalamazoo area -
- Aug. 9 - Xuan Thanh Vo, 32, in a planned act of violence, struck and killed Sandy Villarreal, 65, with his car in a
Walmart parking lot in Oshtemo Township. The two were complete strangers. He just wanted to kill someone and staked out this parking lot (and others), choosing his victim at random. He is in custody.
- Aug. 13 - daytime armed robbery in Kalamazoo. Police gave chase on foot, suspect shot at police multiple times in a residential area and has not been found yet. Not a murder, though it easily could have been.
- Aug. 24 - Non-fatal shooting in Kalamazoo. One victim in the hospital.
- Aug. 26 - Naya Reynolds, a 22-year-old student at Western Michigan University, was
shot and killed at an I-94 park and ride in Portage around 10:50pm. She was one victim in a triple shooting that also injured an 18-month-old and a pregnant woman. A man is under arrest, and a stolen AR-15 was recovered at the site.
- Aug. 27 - Kaylee Gansberg, a 21-year-old student at Western Michigan University, was
hit by a drunk driver around 2:30 am and died one day later, on Aug. 28. It was a hit-and-run, and while technically not murder, it might as well be (the charge will probably be something like vehicular manslaughter). There is a suspect in custody.
- Aug. 28 - Non-fatal double shooting in Kalamazoo. Two victims in the hospital.
- Aug. 29 - David Shayne Postawa, 31,
shot in the face and killed outside a liquor shop in Kalamazoo around 10:30pm. He was a local musician / rapper. No suspect in custody.
- Aug. 29 - Unidentified driver of a stolen vehicle died after
crashing into a utility pole during a police chase. Again, not a murder, but just more reckless violence that led to a loss of life.
- Aug. 30 - 31-year-old Brianna Bates 6-year-old daughter Zenzia Bates were
murdered at their apartment in Portage. The suspected murderer, husband / father Henry Bates, then took his own life in an apparent murder-suicide.
So now we're at 16 in the county. Catching up to the 25 in 2021...