The man who fired one shot that killed two people outside Ford Field after Sunday’s Buccaneers-Lions game will not be charged with a crime.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy says the shooter, whose name has not been released, was acting in self-defense when he shot 25-year-old Jalen Welch. The bullet traveled through Welch’s head and hit 40-year-old Rayshawn Palmer, and both Welch and Palmer were killed by the same bullet. Although prosecutors say Palmer was approaching the scene to try to be a peacemaker, the shooter was legally justified in shooting Welch in self-defense, so he will not be charged in Palmer’s death.
“Perhaps the most heartbreaking of all is the fact that a completely and totally innocent bystander, Mr. Palmer was shot and killed with the same bullet that passed through the head of Mr. Welch,” Worthy said. “It could have been any one of us. We looked at all the applicable law and there is no crime that can be charged and proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Organizers of the tailgating event in the area where the shooting took place say they have canceled their tailgate for the next Lions game and are working with authorities on how to make future events “weapon-free zones.”
“It is absolutely tragic that during all the fun and merrymaking at a Lions tailgate that two lives were lost,” Worthy said.