GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — UPDATE 2/7/2022 5:24 p.m.: Additional details about Jayson Large's death were released by Grand Rapids Police on Monday.
According to the release, police responded to the incident at approximately 9 p.m. on Feb. 5 near the area of Hall Street and Phillips Avenue SW after receiving several reports of shots fired.
Police say that when they arrived, the victim had been shot twice, once in the head and once in the torso. Medical attention was provided by officers, members of the Grand Rapids Fire Department and AMR Ambulance Company personnel.
The victim was transported to St. Mary’s Hospital, where he later died of his injuries.
The death has been ruled a homicide and police have no information regarding any suspects at this time.
If anyone witnessed this incident or has information relating to this homicide, please contact investigators at (616) 456-3380. Anonymous tips may be made to Silent Observer at (616) 774-2345 or www.silentobserver.org.
ORIGINAL STORY:
A 19-year-old man was shot and killed in Grand Rapids while driving Saturday, the Grand Rapids Police Department said.
Robert S. Womack, Kent County Commissioner, says the victim was his cousin, Jayson Large.
"All we know is that somebody drove up beside the car, and they opened gunfire on him," said Womack, "And just before that, he had a conversation with his father on the phone. So, it's really, definitely, ripping this father apart at this time."
Police say he was driving east on Hall Street near Phillips SW around 9 p.m. Saturday night. That's when a suspect vehicle pulled up next to his car and fired several rounds, then drove off. Detectives and crime technicians are currently investigation the situation.
"He was a really good kid," said Womack, "We all make mistakes as kids, just at this point of our life here in West Michigan, the same mistakes we made when we were their age don't end with fistfights. It's gunfight."
In October, Womack lost another cousin, 20-year-old Kendall Frost, to gun violence. Frost was shot and killed on the corner of Griggs Street SE and Paris Avenue SE. The investigation into her death is still ongoing.
"Every time I see a mother out there weeping for a daughter or her son, I see fathers out there and uncles," said Womack, "I have a kinship that has made me fight against violence for over 20 years here in Grand Rapids."
According to Womack, Large was a "magnificent student, exceptionally bright, and exceptionally talented" at basketball. He said Large had a scholarship to college.
Womack said "we definitely have to get these guns off the streets in Grand Rapids."
"[We] are going to need more community police relations," said Womack, "because the police are doing all they can to try to solve some of the murders and curb it, but they definitely can't do it by themselves. And when we have situations where things are done either nationally by bad cops, locally by cops who make mistakes, it puts a damper and a wedge in between community-police relationships."
"So, the police aren't getting the information that they necessarily need to be able to police the community the best. But, it starts with us in the community," he said.
Womack pleaded with the youth in the community to make better decisions, and and talk to police and their parents about any threats.
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