DETROIT, MI — A 15-year-old boy is in custody after police say he opened fire on two women outside an east side liquor store late Friday, killing 57-year-old Faith Williams and critically wounding her niece in an attack investigators believe was random.
Detroit police said the teenager had no known prior contact with the department before the Aug. 21 shooting in the city’s Morningside neighborhood. Williams and her niece, Katriana Cowan, were approaching a liquor store on East Warren Avenue when gunfire erupted shortly after 11 p.m.
Williams died from her injuries, while Cowan remained hospitalized as police continued their investigation. The suspect fled after the shooting but turned himself in the following morning, according to Police Chief Todd Bettison.
The shooting happened about 11:15 p.m. Friday in the 15500 block of East Warren Avenue, near Chalmers Street. Surveillance video reviewed by investigators captured the encounter outside the business.
Police said the teenager and the two women did not know one another before the shooting, and investigators have not identified a dispute or confrontation that led to the gunfire.
Williams and Cowan were relatives of a Detroit police sergeant. The teenager left the area on foot after the shots were fired, prompting police to search for him overnight. Authorities initially considered him armed and dangerous.
By Saturday morning, however, police said the boy had surrendered. Investigators have not publicly identified him because he is a juvenile.
Bettison said the circumstances appeared especially troubling because there was no known relationship between the suspect and the victims.
Williams’ relatives gathered with Detroit police Monday as they mourned her death and asked for support for Cowan, who remained hospitalized.
Williams’ sister, Lucinda Pearson, also spoke about the teenage suspect and said the family was choosing forgiveness while investigators worked to determine what led to the shooting.
“We also ask that you pray for the young man who did this,” Pearson said. “If God forgives us, who are we not to forgive him?”
Pearson asked people to continue thinking about Cowan as she recovers.
Police said there was no evidence that Williams or Cowan had previously encountered the teenager. Neighborhood resident Chrystal Wright said she was told that surveillance footage suggested the youth had been acting unusually inside the store before the shooting.
Police have not announced a confirmed motive, and some details surrounding the teenager’s actions before the gunfire remain under investigation.
The attack became one of several violent cases Detroit police were handling after a difficult weekend across the city. Bettison discussed the liquor store shooting while also addressing other incidents that left residents dead or wounded.
The chief said the weekend’s cases stood out even as Detroit has recorded broader declines in violent crime in recent years. He focused particular attention on the age of the East Warren suspect, saying the 15-year-old had no previous police record.
Bettison said that fact raised questions about whether warning signs in the boy’s life had gone unnoticed before the shooting.
Police have not released a medical or psychological diagnosis for the teenager, and reports about personal losses in his family have not been presented by authorities as an explanation for the attack.
Investigators have continued reviewing video, witness accounts and other evidence to establish the full sequence of events.
Because the suspect is 15, the case will proceed under Michigan’s juvenile justice laws unless prosecutors seek another designation allowed under state law.
Detroit police said Tuesday that the teenager remained in custody and that investigators expected the case to be presented for criminal charges by the end of the week.
The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office had not publicly announced charges as of Tuesday morning. Any charging decision will determine which allegations prosecutors believe can be supported by the evidence and how the case will move through court.
Police have not said publicly what weapon was recovered, whether investigators believe it belonged to the teenager or how he obtained it.
Authorities also have not released the complete surveillance recording through an official evidentiary filing. Until charges are filed, the youth remains a suspect and has not been convicted of a crime.
At the east side store, the shooting left neighbors and Williams’ family struggling to understand why two women who apparently had no connection to the teenager were targeted.
A makeshift memorial was placed at the business as relatives remembered Williams and waited for updates on Cowan.
Pearson spoke through tears during the family’s appearance with police and asked that her niece remain in people’s thoughts.
Wright, who lives in the neighborhood, said past encounters with the teenager had left her concerned about his behavior. She described him as seeming disconnected, though police have not independently confirmed her assessment or said it played a role in the shooting.
Bettison used the case to speak more broadly about young people who may become isolated from relatives, schools or community support. His remarks did not change the central unanswered question facing detectives: why the teenager allegedly fired at two strangers outside the store.
Police have described the shooting as apparently random because investigators have found no known connection between the teenager and the victims. That conclusion remains part of an active investigation, and officials have not announced a specific motive.
The case drew added attention because of the suspect’s age, the absence of known prior police contact and video evidence showing parts of the encounter.
For Williams’ relatives, the immediate focus remained on mourning her death and Cowan’s recovery. The family has publicly responded without calling for retaliation and instead asked for prayers for both the victims and the teenager now accused in the case.
The 15-year-old remained in Detroit police custody Tuesday as homicide investigators prepared their findings for prosecutors. Cowan remained hospitalized, and no updated condition had been publicly announced.
Police said charges were expected later in the week, marking the next major step in the case.
Last updated Aug. 25, 2026.