Police identified the victim as 17-year-old Chikylah Richardson of Pittsfield Township.
ANN ARBOR, MI — A 17-year-old girl was shot and killed Sunday afternoon inside an apartment on the 1400 block of Pear Street, Ann Arbor police said. Officers found the teen dead at the scene around 1:20 p.m., and a teenage suspect was taken into custody Monday.
Police on Monday said the case appears targeted and isolated, easing immediate fears of a random attack while leaving grieving classmates and neighbors with questions about motive. Investigators recovered a firearm believed to have been used in the shooting and are preparing the case for review by the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office. Authorities identified the victim as Chikylah Richardson, a 17-year-old from Pittsfield Township who attended Ann Arbor Public Schools. The incident came amid a tense day for the city that also included an unrelated early-morning shooting that killed a family’s dog on Weldon Boulevard.
Officers were dispatched to Pear Street shortly after 1:20 p.m. Sunday following reports of shots fired inside an apartment. When police arrived, they found Richardson with fatal injuries and pronounced her dead at the scene. Detectives canvassed the complex, collected evidence inside the unit, and launched a K-9 track that led to the recovery of a handgun nearby, according to police. Chief Andre Anderson said preliminary information indicates the victim and the suspect knew each other and had gathered with mutual friends before the violence. “We know who the shooter is,” Anderson said, adding that determining why a teenager would bring and use a gun in that setting remains central to the investigation.
By Monday afternoon, investigators said a 17-year-old boy was in custody in connection with the killing after detectives coordinated with other agencies. Police said the teen was arrested outside the city and that no additional suspects were being sought. Officials have not released the suspect’s name because of his age. Detectives said the recovered firearm is undergoing forensic testing as they reconstruct the sequence of events inside the apartment. The Chief said the shooting does not appear to be connected to broader disputes or neighborhood crime patterns, and early evidence points to a dispute or act that escalated quickly among acquaintances. What led to the gun being fired remained unknown as of Tuesday morning.
Richardson was a student in Ann Arbor Public Schools, where district leaders said she was well liked by classmates and staff. The district said support teams would be available on campus this week as students return to classes following the weekend killing. Friends gathered outside the complex late Sunday, leaving small clusters of flowers near the building entrance as patrol cars idled nearby. A resident who asked not to be named said the area is generally quiet and that the sudden rush of police and medical crews “didn’t feel real at first,” describing a flurry of officers moving in and out of a second-floor unit as evening fell.
The fatal shooting unfolded the same day police responded to a separate pre-dawn incident on Weldon Boulevard, where a suspect shot and killed a family’s dog during an attempted vehicle break-in and then fired into a nearby home. Authorities emphasized that the two cases are unrelated but said both strained resources and alarmed residents across the city. “We will not tolerate this violence,” Anderson said in a written update addressing both investigations. Detectives in the Pear Street case interviewed witnesses who had gathered at the apartment and are reviewing building camera footage and phone records for additional context on who was present and the moments before gunfire.
After the arrest, Ann Arbor police said they would forward investigative findings to the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office for charging review. That step typically includes autopsy results, lab analysis of the firearm and shell casings, and formal witness statements. Officials did not release a charging timeline but said detectives were working to complete interviews and evidence processing. If charges are authorized, an initial court appearance for the teen suspect would be scheduled in Washtenaw County, with future hearings determining whether the case remains in juvenile court or is waived to adult court under Michigan law. The Police Department said more details, including the suspect’s identity, are expected in charging documents once filed.
Pear Street is a dense corridor of small apartment buildings southeast of downtown, home to students, service workers, and long-time residents. On Monday, a maintenance worker propped open a stairwell door while investigators carried out paper bags of evidence. “It shook a lot of people. We see ambulances for wellness checks sometimes, not this,” said Glenn Kime, who lives nearby and described waking to sirens the day before as squads converged on the block. Through the afternoon, a handful of mourners stopped to leave candles near the mailbox cluster; others watched from porches as officers briefed building staff and cleared the scene.
As of Tuesday, detectives said they were still determining the motive and whether the gun had been brought into the apartment by the suspect or someone else. Police said they were not aware of any ongoing threat to the public and that no further arrests were planned. The Prosecutor’s Office is expected to announce charging decisions after evidence review this week. A further update from police is anticipated once lab testing on the recovered firearm is complete and additional witness interviews are transcribed.
Author note: Last updated December 9, 2025.