Rafael Martinez-Lopez Charged After Shooting Kills Jeremiah Griffin-Cuevas, Savanah Villarreal In Grand Rapids Soccer Dispute

A dispute outside Southwest Elementary School in Grand Rapids, Michigan escalated into a fatal shooting that killed 15-year-old Jeremiah Griffin-Cuevas and 38-year-old Savanah Villarreal, police said.

Police said 18-year-old Rafael Martinez-Lopez was charged after Grand Rapids police responded to the area for a report of two people being shot just after 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Associated Press

In a court filing, Grand Rapids police said Martinez-Lopez tried to shoot at another child but the weapon didn’t go off.

Interim police chief Joe Trigg said, "For whatever reason, he was turned away so a verbal altercation started, which led to the suspect pulling out a firearm and shooting that juvenile."

Trigg also said the adult female was targeted after she came to the aid of the juvenile victim, and the shootings occurred Tuesday evening near Southwest Elementary School.

Rafael Martinez-Lopez appeared in Michigan court on murder charges Friday, three days after police said the soccer dispute outside a school turned into a fatal shooting.

According to court documents secured by News Channel 3, officers found 39-year-old Savanah Villarreal and 15-year-old Jeremiah Griffin-Cuevas suffering from gunshot wounds, with Griffin-Cuevas declared dead at the scene and Villarreal later dying during emergency surgery.

HuffPost

The documents said police located nine .40 caliber shell casings at the scene and obtained cell phone video and school surveillance footage of the shooting.

In the affidavit described by MLive, police said the older brother of a boy turned away from playing soccer was the shooter, and the allegations were contained in a court affidavit obtained Thursday, May 7 by MLive.

MLive said Trigg described the shooting as senseless and quoted him saying, "We have care and concern for all victims, but this kind of senseless violence just hits differently, even for long-serving officers like myself,".

Police said the shootings happened near Southwest Elementary School at 801 Oakland Ave. SW, and classes were canceled there Wednesday and at another nearby school.

The Grand Rapids school district closed two schools Wednesday so the community can "process what has happened in our neighborhood," according to the AP report.

Mildred Griffin, the mother of Jeremiah Griffin-Cuevas, told WOOD-TV, "Someone has taken something from me, and that’s something I can’t get back," after Martinez-Lopez was ordered held without bail.

Telemundo reported that Martinez-López acknowledged the murder and other charges during a brief court appearance and was ordered held without bail, while his attorney Craig Jenison said he had no prior criminal record.

The case is tied to allegations that Martinez-Lopez pulled a black handgun with an extended magazine and then pointed it at a 9-year-old before running away, with police saying the gun did not function.