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GRPD Chief: Two young men shot, critically wounded

GRPD Chief Eric Winstrom said around 8 p.m., shots were fired in the 2100 block of Batchawana St SE, which is behind the sports facility MSA Woodland.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Two young men were shot and critically wounded in what the Grand Rapids Police Chief says is a drive-by Friday night. 

GRPD Chief Eric Winstrom said around 8 p.m., shots were fired in the 2100 block of Batchawana St SE, which is behind the sports facility MSA Woodland. 

The chief said there are two crime scenes authorities are focusing on. One where the shooting happened and another where one of the victims stopped around the corner. 

Both men were taken to the hospital in grave condition.

While police can't say what caused the shooting at this point, Winstrom said it appeared the two young men were walking on the sidewalk when shots rang out. It appears to be targeted.

Police don't yet have a description of any suspects or a vehicle to share yet.

Detectives at the scene marked dozens of shell casings. 

Chief Winstrom said the amount of shell casings leaves him to believe there was one shooter or more, and they were likely in a car. 

At this point, detectives are looking for surveillance cameras that could help them piece together what happened. They're also talking to witnesses in the area.

"I’m outraged. And I want everyone in Grand Rapids to be outraged. I don’t ever want this to be the norm. We've had a string of weeks where it's been relatively peaceful," Winstrom said. 

"Our first really hot day, we don't want to see this as a pattern throughout the summer like we saw last summer. We want this to be it, we want this to stop." 

The chief said a Michigan State Police helicopter is up in the air surveilling the area and assisting officers.

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