Detroit mayor: Murders ‘very demoralizing, very painful’; city doesn’t know ‘how to stop it’

Detroit mayor: Murders are ‘very demoralizing’

BIRMINGHAM, Mich. — Mayor Dave Bing says a recent spate of slayings in Detroit has been “very demoralizing” and the city doesn’t know “how to stop it.”

The Wayne County medical examiner has investigated about a dozen killings in the past couple of weeks, including the fatal shootings of two teenage boys, a 69-year-old grandmother and a police officer. Early Sunday, 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones was killed during a raid by Detroit police officers at her east side home.

Bing says a call by U.S. Rep. John Conyers to have the Justice Department review Stanley-Jones’ death “may be an overreaction,” and that he would rather keep the investigation local.

Bing spoke Thursday morning in Birmingham, where he joined area leaders for a discussion of regional issues.