- Ingham County Prosecutor's Office says the county hasn't had any homicides this year.
- This statistic down from previous years.
- Watch video above to hear community member's response.
The word homicide is still an emotional trigger for Michael McKissic, stemming from the death of his 23 year old son Mikey.
“He was murdered August 1, 2015,” McKissic said.
Nearly 9 years later Mikey's death is still unsolved. Since his son's passing, McKissic has done a lot of gun prevention work in the community, including starting the Mikey 23 Foundation, which teaches young adults skill trades.
“Our motto is simple, instead of picking up a gun, come and pick up a hammer,” McKissic.
Other approaches have come from the courtroom.
“We're happy to announce we have not had a homicide in the first 3 months, which are great statistics to report,” Ingham County Prosecutor John Dewane said.
Ingham county is wrapping up its first quarter of the year with no homicides. For comparison, By the end of March 2021, there were 7 homicides in the county, in the first quarters of 2022 and 2023 both saw 4 homicides each.
Dewane believes a change in policies have played a role in the decline.
“Charging individuals with felony of firearm when its appropriate,” Dewane said. Charging people with as repeat offenders and really standing on no plea deals for conceal weapon.”
While everyone is pleased with the progress, McKissic said the mission isn't over.
“I'm glad this number is down but we still have a long way to go,” McKissic said. “We need to have more communication among organizations that are doing the work and we need to work together to really help tackle this problem and come up with solutions because one organization won't solve it.”
