Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Blogs
Blogs

Detroiters Are Planning Massive Paintball Events to Squelch Gun Violence — They’re Getting Arrested Instead

Posted byBy ABS Contributor | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=570282810008729&set=a.113056309064717.1073741829.100010810447284&type=3&theater

DETROIT (AP) — Stepped up police enforcement is planned this weekend in Detroit to quell a social media-publicized citywide paintball war that — so far — has resulted in six arrests and left an unmarked patrol car splattered.

Chief James Craig referred Friday to the running battle along city streets as “Paint Up, Guns Down,” and said organizers are pitching it as an alternative to guns and other violence.

“If you want to work with us and stop the violence, there are a number of things we can do together, but having paintball wars across the city is not the way to do it,” said Craig said during a news conference.

On Wednesday night, Davon Williams, 22, was arrested when nearly a dozen paintballs struck Capt. Darrell Patterson’s vehicle. The paintballs rained on the unmarked car after Patterson turned on its emergency lights when he saw about 50 people with paintball guns shooting at each other.

Williams was arraigned Friday on assault and propelling an object at a vehicle charges — both misdemeanors. He faces a May 10 pretrial hearing. Court records did not list an attorney Friday for Williams.

Five other people were arrested, with four being ticketed for disorderly conduct. No injuries were reported.

Craig said he’s more concerned about what could have happened.

“I’m calling them replica firearms, because when you look at some of these paint guns they look just like an actual firearm,” he said. “With armed citizens, police officers when confronted with someone with a replica weapon — or in this case a paint gun — they may make the mistake of thinking it’s a real firearm and feel threatened.”

Associated Press contributed to this story.

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top