LANSING, Mich. — Advocates gathered outside Lansing City Hall on Oct. 12 calling for an emergency shelter for people living outdoors as the Lansing Police Department continues investigating a string of violent deaths along the Lansing River Trail.
About a dozen people held signs urging the city to open temporary housing, saying unhoused residents are sleeping in shifts or during the day because of fear tied to the trail deaths. The rally came about an hour before a Lansing City Council meeting.
Louis Woodruff, 57, was one of five men who were homeless and died after apparent violence along the trail over the past year. He was found unconscious with facial trauma on Aug. 30 in the 200 block of East Cesar Chavez Avenue, and the Lansing Police Department is investigating his death as a homicide.
Police Chief Robert Backus stepped outside during the rally and said there is a lot of fear in the unhoused community. He said the department is working with homeless advocates and that investigators, with community help, aim to resolve the cases while keeping people safe through partnerships and information.
Backus has told reporters investigators are examining whether the cases may be related and represent a pattern targeting homeless men sleeping along the trail overnight. Mayor Andy Schor has said the attacks have targeted unhoused men overnight and that the general public has not been targeted, adding that downtown and the trail remain safe for residents and visitors.
Scott Bean, a spokesperson for Mayor Andy Schor, said preliminary conversations about an emergency shelter have started but that a building, furniture, staffing and programming would make costs significant and many questions remain.
A suspect is in custody in at least one of the deaths, according to the mayor, and police are looking into all possible connections among the cases.
