KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Kalamazoo has a long rich history of partying, as many college towns do, but it also has a history of disruptive, even violent celebrations. The latest is in a familiar spot, just west of the Western Michigan University Campus.
City officials got together this past week to talk about the Campus Pointe Mall, where there have been large crowds, shots fired, and now two homicides, the latest just last month.
Public Safety Chief David Boysen says even though it’s been a hot spot for years, these two murders have brought the issue to a head.
Unlike the huge student parties that used to occur in the area of Howard Street and West Michigan Avenue years ago, these gatherings seem to be made up of older visitors from the area. Boysen says it’s a dangerous area every weekend and can’t continue this summer.
Boysen says they plan to meet with the owners of the shopping mall and suggest restricting access to the parking lot on weekend evenings.
It wouldn’t be the first time persistent partiers have been a headache for the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety. Efforts have been ongoing for years to derail the “X-train” , a mobile party usually associated with, but not restricted to the north side.
The body of 41-year-old Jeffrey Howard Russell was found in the Campus Pointe Mall parking lot in mid April. 21-Year old Bryce Salter’s body was found in the same parking lot last November. Both died from gunshot wounds.
reporting from John McNeill
