Sunday, August 10, 2008

Derrick Lamont Henderson, R.I.P.

Dana DeFever of The Flint Journal reports:

"A 33-year-old man is dead after a late night shooting Saturday.

"Police responded about 11:15 p.m. Saturday to the intersection of Fleming Road and Bellcreek Drive regarding shots fired and a man down in the intersection.

"Derrick Lamont Henderson died of gunshot wounds.

"Police said witnesses heard several gunshots and observed a dark-colored SUV speeding away from the scene."

The Flint Murder Map tracks homicides in The Vehicle City throughout the year.

8 comments:

  1. I am finding it very disturbing that every week there is at least one new murder in Flint. What is happening? Are these random senseless acts? Are they drug related?
    As much as I love this site, it is disheartening when I am looking forward to the new posting of the day to see another murder listed. I can almost count on another added to the murder map after the weekend.
    Any thoughts?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous, I find the murders very disturbing as well.

    I think the crime problem in Flint is shocking, as it is in many American cities, especially those that are struggling economically.

    I decided to track the murders so that readers are aware of the crime situation in Flint. I'm hoping that if enough people demand that local, state and federal leaders do something to solve the problem, things might actually improve.

    (I realize that Flint Expatriates is an obscure blog that has no power over politicians, but I feel like I need to do something.)

    I also feel that Flint residents who are murdered deserve some memorial to them. Again, this is a very insignificant forum to memorialize someone who has been killed, but I'm trying.

    I realize that the murder posts are pretty incongruous compared to most of the other items, but I feel like this is important.

    I hope that helps explain the posts. I'm not trying to sensationalize the murders; I'm hoping in some small way to memorialize the people who died and raise awareness.

    Thanks for your comment.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think it's worthwhile to call attention to Flint's murder victims on this site. How often do "Flint Journal" readers (or the readers of scads of local newspapers across the nation) simply see another murder-related headline and move on to read something else - and why? On the one hand I think they feel powerless to do anything about it, but just as disturbing is the degree of desensitization to the violence in our midst and how quickly the event is forgotten by the wider community. Posting the article again is a way to get at least a smaller number of people to sit up and take notice of the person who has died. And maybe - just maybe - this attempt and others like it to raise awareness will lead to some sort of local action. It has to start somewhere, and let's face it: we know it won't be at City Hall.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I agree that it is worth while to call attention to the murder victims on the site. I'm sure for family and friends of the victims, it is important to have them memorialized. As the originator of the anonymous comment, I am just having an emotional reaction to feeling all warm and cozy about my home town and then experiencing the reality of what is really going on. Thanks for your thoughts. I'll call my therapist...

    ReplyDelete
  5. I gave you a little shout out on my blog today.

    Good work with the map, it's something the Flint Journal should be doing.

    Jim

    ReplyDelete
  6. time to update the map again. think they'll reach zero/end game? no more victims? then what? today's poor bastard made the mistake of running out of gas in the wrong place...

    ReplyDelete
  7. Derrick was...is my cousin and this was a totally murder random reagrdless of what the ploice say. He was a good man and this did not deserve to happen to him. Something needs to be done about Flint before everyone is driven out and those remaining kill each other.

    ReplyDelete
  8. derrick is my best firend he was a big brother to me and all this is a wake up call i was just wit him before it happend he just droped me off and then his brother called me like a hour later derrick aka big d did not deserve this i still cant beleave this happend it just dont seem real but it is my firend is gone now and i miss him so much all the things we use to do just going out to eat or shopin or just kickin it if you new derrick you know he was the type of person just full of so much life just was a fun person to be around if i aint talk to him i done seen him that day this is crazy to me but he will always live on with all the good time we had love you derrick you will never be forgotten

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for commenting. I moderate comments, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. You might enjoy my book about Flint called "Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City," a Michigan Notable Book for 2014 and a finalist for the 33rd Annual Northern California Book Award for Creative NonFiction. Filmmaker Michael Moore described Teardown as "a brilliant chronicle of the Mad Maxization of a once-great American city." More information about Teardown is available at www.teardownbook.com.