Mack Q. Sykes, R.I.P.

Shannon Murphy of The Flint Journal reports:

The investigation continues into the death of a 54-year-old man whose home is believed to have been set on fire.

Mack Q. Sykes died Wednesday morning in his home on North Street near Carton Street.

Firefighters were called to the home about 6 a.m. Sykes was found dead in an upstairs bedroom.

Firefighters attempted to rescue him, but there was too much heat and fire in the home, said Flint Fire Battalion Chief Theresa Root.

Root said it appears Molotov cocktails were thrown on the porch of the home. Witnesses said they heard three loud booms prior to the fire breaking out.

Police are calling Sykes' death a homicide.

The Flint Murder Map tracks homicides in The Vehicle City throughout the year. Please note that the map is incomplete and offers only a partial list of murder victims.

Political motives

Many young people move away from Flint to pursue an education or economic opportunities elsewhere. Others have more specific reasons for leaving:

"A 23-year-old man was plotting to set off bombs to coincide with the Republican National Convention, according to details federal prosecutors released Wednesday," reports CNN correspondent Joe Johns.
"The suspect, Matthew DePalma of Flint, Michigan, is charged with possessing Molotov cocktails, a type of gasoline bomb.
"DePalma was locked up on August 30.
"The criminal complaint also alleges that in July 2008 DePalma told an FBI confidential source that he wanted to travel to the RNC to 'make some bombs' and 'blow s–t up.'"