Following the Detroit Lions’ home game versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, September 15, 2024, a usual post-game celebration turned deadly when a shooting happened at Detroit’s Eastern Market. The busy area—where thousands of Lions fans congregate for tailgate parties following games—became the site of a deadly altercation in which two men—Jalen Welch and Rayshawn Bryant—lost their lives.
Just a short distance from Ford Field, Eastern Market is a historic marketplace that comes alive on game days. Following the Lions’ loss, supporters celebrated, barbecued, and socialized on Sunday. But among the happiness and celebration, a fight broke out between a few people, turning violent and killing Welch, a forty-year-old man, and Bryant, a twenty-year-old man.
According to reports, the shooting happened at 4:30 PM as large groups of people were still gathered in the market area. Gunshots were heard close to the center of the market by police who were in the area doing a normal patrol, according to Detroit Police Chief James White. They heard gunfire and reacted quickly, arriving at the scene in a matter of minutes to discover one man dead and another seriously injured. The second victim, subsequently named as Rayshawn Bryant, passed away from his injuries at a local hospital in spite of efforts to save his life.
