A Michigan prosecutor said a concealed carrier who killed two people with one shot at a Detroit Lions fan tailgate Sunday acted in self-defense and won't be charged.
Cellphone video captured a fight at the Eastern Market during which the assailant, Jalen Welch, allegedly pulled a gun and threatened a 40-year-old man, WJBK-TV reported. That 40-year-old, a legal concealed pistol owner, fatally wounded Welch with one shot through his head, the station said — and that same shot also fatally wounded innocent bystander RayShawn Palmer, who also was hit in the head.
'My client is very pleased he is not being charged with a crime; it was agonizing sitting in jail for three days awaiting the decision.'
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy called the shooting at act of lawful self-defense, WJBK said, adding that Palmer only tried to be the peacemaker.
"In this case the shooter was not involved with the physical altercation, or any crime, when Mr. Welch pulled out his weapon and threatened him with deadly force," part of Worthy's statement reads, the station noted. "It is only then that the shooter drew his weapon and fired one-time striking Mr. Welch, and unfortunately striking Mr. Palmer. A thorough review of the facts and evidence shows that the shooter acted in lawful self-defense. The shooting was justified. There is insufficient evidence to charge the shooter with any crime."
The shooter's attorney told WJBK in a statement: "My client is very pleased he is not being charged with a crime; it was agonizing sitting in jail for three days awaiting the decision. He is dealing with a lot of emotions. He feels terrible for the family of the bystander and wishes to extend his condolences, but he is grateful to return to his family. His right to exercise to protect his life and others is absolute. He did nothing to forfeit that right."
Palmer's family is heartbroken over his death and angry that no charges are being filed against the shooter.
"This is unbelievable that an individual shoots someone — even though he had a CPL — in an environment like this," Jermaine Little, Palmer's brother, told the station. "It could have been a 5-year-old. Unfortunately it was my brother, and so my whole family is here. We are grieving. We are hurt, and we want some answers."
Little added to WJBK, "Our brother’s gone. This is an individual that wanted to give back, did give back, loved his family, was not a violent person, loved to dance. Just wanted to entertain and for this to happen, for trying to stop something that was happening, it’s unacceptable."
Palmer’s family also told the station they will fight the no-charges ruling.
"We’re not going to give up," Little noted to WJBK, adding that "if we got to get out here every day, if we got to post things, if we got to march — whatever we got to do. We just want some answers. Give us some answers. ..."
You can view a video report here about the incident.
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NFL quarterback Brock Purdy made no qualms about who he was thanking first for his monumental comeback against the Detroit Lions in the NFC championship game.
The San Francisco 49ers quarterback brought his team back from a 17-point deficit to eventually win a 34-31 barn-burner to advance to the Super Bowl.
Following the game, Purdy was handed the George Halas trophy — given to the winner of the conference — and asked by analyst Michael Strahan about the keys to the amazing comeback.
"You just led one of the biggest comebacks in NFC championship game history. What was the key to the amazing comeback?" Strahan asked.
"First of all, glory to God. He's given us this opportunity, man," Purdy began. "For us, it's a team sport. We knew we had a half left, defense did their job, the boys on offense took care of business."
"Coach called a great game, and we had the faithful behind us the whole way, so we love you guys," the 24-year-old said.
49ers QB Brock Purdy after a 17 point comeback win sending the team to the Super Bowl: \u201cFirst of all, glory to God. He\u2019s given us this opportunity.\u201d— (@)
Later in the evening, Purdy was asked by a reporter at the postgame press conference to reflect on his journey leading up to the Super Bowl.
"Honestly, I think it’s just a testament to God and where He’s taken me in life," he replied. "I feel like I’ve always sort of had to fight for what I get and work for what I get. But God’s always given me an opportunity, whether that was in high school, college, and then obviously in the NFL," the quarterback continued.
Purdy, who in just his second season led the league in quarterback rating and was third in touchdown passes, also spoke on how his faith helped him overcome seemingly insurmountable odds.
"Getting drafted last, people overlook you and all that kind of stuff, and then all you need is an opportunity and watch and see what [God] does. I put my faith and trust in him, and he’s gotten me where I’m at."
"When I’m down 17 at half, honestly, I’m just like thinking, ‘All right God, You’ve taken me here, and win or lose, I’m going to glorify You.,'" he said about the game. "That’s my peace, that’s the joy, that’s the steadfastness — that’s where I get it from."
Purdy will become the third-youngest quarterback to start a Super Bowl game at 24 years and 46 days old.
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Like many institutions in America, the NFL seems to be getting too soft — and Jason Whitlock is not pleased.
“I’m not real comfortable with where the NFL has gone in terms of softness,” Whitlock says.
Warren Sapp, a former defensive tackle who helped win Tampa Bay’s first Super Bowl title, agrees, joking that it should be called the “National Fluff League.”
“We play a game that you can go down, and we all take that risk going into it, you know, with our children and our moms and everything, but we got to finish this game,” Sapp adds.
Whitlock believes the NFL has been “demonizing” hard hits on other players for years, noting that Sapp himself was “demonized for a hit on an offensive lineman."
Seth Joyner, who was a linebacker in the NFL and helped bring the Denver Broncos to a Super Bowl victory in 1998, believes it’s important to remember how the NFL got to this point.
“When a multibillion-dollar industry gets sued for $760 million,” Joyner explains, “that’s gonna have reverberations all the way down through every level of football.”
However, Joyner believes that for all the danger the game of football brings, it’s worth it.
“People were like ‘Oh I can’t believe you let your son play football.’ I’m like, I learned more from football than the college degree that I got, okay? There’s no way I wouldn’t let him play now,” he says.
“We had a rule, we talked about it. I said, you got three concussions, and then you’re done,” he adds.
Brett Favre, a famed NFL quarterback who most famously played for the Green Bay Packers, believes the rules and regulations that have been added surrounding things like concussions are a good thing.
Favre spoke to an expert who asked him how many concussions he’d had, to which Favre responded three or four where he blacked out.
“And he said how about a thousand or thousands, and I thought, this guy is crazy,” Favre recalls.
The expert told him that every time he saw stars, or his ears were ringing, those were concussions too.
“I said, ‘So when do you think it’s safe to play tackle football?’ He said, ‘Never.’”
“There’s truth in that,” Joyner responds. “The human body was not designed to be in 60-something car wrecks a game.”
To enjoy more fearless conversations at the crossroads of culture, faith, sports, and comedy with Jason Whitlock, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
Losing is a sickness, like cancer. It spreads through your system and transforms and defines you. It shuts down certain synapses in your brain, or something, imposes limits on you, and makes you the worst thing of all: a quitter.
That's why Matthew Stafford is the most amazing player in the NFL so far this season. Is he the best player in the year of the quarterback?
Sorry, Lamar Jackson fans. Kyler Murray fans. Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and Patrick Mahomes fans. But yes, he is.
From my view as a coach — a college tennis coach — I think the most amazing thing in the NFL this year is Stafford's ability to simply not be a loser. After serving a 12-year sentence in Detroit, how did he come out of there with the belief that he could beat Tom Brady and the world champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday in front of a star-studded audience? LeBron James, Jason Sudeikis, and Dr. Dre were all there Sunday.
In an era of player empowerment, when Stafford left the Lions for the Rams, it didn't come across as a petulant player leaving to form his own team with his buddies. No, this was more of a release after 12 years of good behavior.
"I'm enjoying every minute of it, trying to make the most of it," Stafford said. "We'll see where it takes us. ... I'm trying to be myself every single day, bring my best every single day and see where that takes us."
If that means taking the Rams to the Super Bowl, then he'll be 34 years old when he gets there. Until now, being himself hadn't gotten him anywhere, not even one measly playoff win.
We always knew that Stafford had the skills, but he was still a test case for the Rams. While he looked like a great player on a terrible team, at some point you start wondering if he was just a loser. We measure great athletes by the titles. Stafford couldn't even win once in the postseason.
From a coach's perspective, I'll say that Stafford's ability to step in and lead the Rams to a 3-0 start, including Sunday's 34-24 win over Brady, is testimony to incredible inner strength. Maybe faith. Maybe great coaching along the way.
I took over as Roosevelt University's tennis coach four and a half years ago in the middle of a winless season. Our women's team was unquestionably the worst team in the worst program in America.
After a year of recruiting, you could see the difference between winners (new players) and losers (old guard) in the program. My No. 1 player, a senior, wanted to miss the first week of practices and the first two matches for her annual family water-ski vacation. I told her that if she went on the vacation, her scholarship would be removed and she'd be off the team. She could not see why two season-opening matches meant so much to me.
She was a loser. She had been taught to be one. I couldn't let the incoming freshmen see that or feel it. She knew how to prepare to lose, how to practice to lose, how to expect to lose in matches. She was maybe the most talented player the program had ever had. She had been infected by all the losing.
The only way through that was to schedule down and openly celebrate minor improvements as victories. It was hard to scrub the losing from the program.
When Stafford left for the Rams, I wondered if he was a loser, too. He was the first quarterback in NFL history to complete 60% of his passes in a season, the youngest to reach 20,000 career passing yards, and 30,000, 40,000, and 45,000.
History is filled with losers with great stats. Stafford had a stellar college career at Georgia, but in his final year there, 2008, he went into the season as a Heisman Trophy favorite on the No. 1-ranked team. Georgia would lose three games that year. He threw for five touchdowns and 407 yards against Georgia Tech ... in a loss.
Some of the NFL's all-time legendary players have been on losing teams: Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers of the 1960s Chicago Bears come to mind. Archie Manning, Joe Thomas, Floyd Little.
None of those guys ever played in a playoff game. More teams make the postseason now, and you'd think a quarterback in this era could manage one playoff win all by himself.
In three games with the Rams, Stafford has already thrown nine touchdown passes. He had three more Sunday against the Super Bowl champs. His connection with coach Sean McVay was immediate, as the Rams tried to develop a downfield passing game. Stafford has three touchdowns of 50 yards or more this year, including a 75-yarder Sunday to DeSean Jackson.
"He pushes it down the field so easily," Tampa coach Bruce Arians said. "You're right up in his face one time he finds a guy wide open down the field and gets it to him. A lot of guys, they see it but they can't get it to him. He's a special player."
Turns out, Stafford's a winner, too.
In the National Football League’s Sunday night finale, Detroit Lions kicker Jake Bates used his platform to glorify God after nailing the game-winning field goal during the team’s matchup against the Houston Texans. “I think it just shows how good the Lord is. He’s so faithful,” Bates said in his post-game interview. The Lions’ new […]
'Bye Bye Barry' tells the story of an athlete whose love for football is generated by playing to the best of his ability, not setting personal records.
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