Family remembers 18-year-old shot and killed in Detroit: "He was a light"

A neighborhood on Detroit's east side became the scene of a tragedy before dawn on Friday.

Detroit police officers responded to Cheshire Street near Moross Road around 3:30 a.m., where they found 18-year-old Donovan Moss shot and killed. A young father known as D.J. to those who knew and loved him, Zamiya Moss says her family doesn't want her cousin's death to become just another shooting, pushing for policy changes around gun control.

"I want people to not remember his death, but to remember that he meant something," said Moss.

"He was a light. He was loyal. He was hilarious, and he was the type of hilarious where you don't know you're funny until other people are just laughing," said Moss.

In a statement, Mayor Mary Sheffield called the loss "heartbreaking" and said that her Office of Neighborhood and Community Safety will offer support to Moss's family. She also said she has faith that Detroit Police will identify whoever is responsible and bring them to justice.

"We need stricter gun policies that can restrict who can get a gun, when they can get a gun, and how they can use that gun," said Moss.  

As of Friday afternoon, police have not announced an arrest or identified a suspect.

This comes less than 48 hours after an 11-year-old was shot and seriously injured due to an unsecured handgun.

In response to that incident, FORCE Detroit's Eyvette Hansberry said prevention and intervention must be part of the response to gun violence.

"In order to make a difference, then we need to move towards prevention and intervention. We want to prevent these things from happening," said Hansberry.

Detroit police are asking anyone with information about Moss's death to contact its homicide unit or Crime Stoppers.