Grand Rapids police chief: Motive behind shooting spree may never be known

Detroit Free Press:

GRAND RAPIDS – A wild killing spree that stunned Michigan's second-largest city Thursday and left eight people dead, including two children, was described this morning as a "horrific instance of domestic violence” by Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell.

The Thursday afternoon slaughter of seven people, subsequent shoot-outs, high-speed chase and hostage-taking that ended near midnight with the apparent suicide of gunman Rodrick Shonte Dantzler have "shaken our community to its roots," Heartwell said. "What happened is so uncharacteristic it boggles the mind."

Speaking at a news conference at police headquarters, Chief Kevin Belk said it may never be known why Dantzler killed three people at one Grand Rapids home and then four at another. The victims included two of Dantzler’s former girlfriends, the parents of one and sister of another, his own 12-year-old daughter and another child.