2 Killed Near Grand Rapids School After Soccer Dispute, Suspect Arrested

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. A 15-year-old boy and a 39-year-old mother of eight were fatally shot Tuesday evening near Southwest Elementary School after an 18-year-old suspect was turned away from an informal soccer game, according to Grand Rapids police.

The incident unfolded shortly after 6:30 p.m. near Rumsey Street SW and Oakland Avenue SW, on school property often used by neighborhood children for play. Interim Police Chief Joe Trigg said a group of juveniles was playing soccer when the suspect approached and asked to join. He was rebuffed, sparking a verbal altercation. The suspect then pulled out a firearm and shot the teenager, police said. The woman, identified by relatives as Savanah Villarreal, intervened verbally to aid or defend the boy, identified as Jeremiah Cuevas-Griffin, and was also shot.

Officers found both victims on the school grounds. First responders performed lifesaving measures on the boy, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Villarreal was transported to a hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries. Investigators recovered nine shell casings and located a bullet in a nearby home. Seven or eight juveniles witnessed the shooting, Trigg said, calling it...