On March 11, 1997, a shooting spree took place in Detroit, Michigan when 21-year-old Allen Lane Griffin Jr. killed three people and wounded two others with a 12-gauge pump shotgun before being fatally shot by police. The shootings took place predominantly at a Comerica branch bank in northeast Detroit.[1] Despite two years of litigation into the cause of the shootings, no definitive motive was ever concluded.[2]
| 1997 Detroit shootings | |
|---|---|
.jpg) The Comerica bank in the aftermath of the shootings | |
 Location of the Comerica bank | |
| Location | Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 42°25′41″N 82°57′15″W / 42.428056°N 82.954167°W |
| Date | March 11, 1997 c. 10:00 – 10:30 a.m. (EDT) |
Attack type | Mass shooting, spree shooting |
| Weapon | 12-gauge pump shotgun |
| Deaths | 4 (including the perpetrator) |
| Injured | 2 |
| Perpetrator | Allen Lane Griffin Jr. |
| Motive | Unknown |
Events
editInitial shooting and car theft
editThe shooting spree began just before 10:00 a.m. when Griffin left his home in Detroit, Michigan and walked down the road toward Denby High School. On his way, he encountered 23-year-old Eric Skalnek, a police recruit applicant, near the entrance to the school's outdoor track. Skalnek had been on a morning jog when he spotted Griffin, dressed in a camouflage jacket, baseball cap, jeans, and tennis shoes. Griffin held a 12-gauge pump shotgun in one hand and a walking cane in the other. Upon seeing Skalnek, Griffin raised his shotgun and fired at him, striking him in the face. Skalnek fell to the floor and lay bleeding until he was found by paramedics. He was later taken to hospital and survived the shooting. According to a paramedic, a third of Skalnek's face was blown off from the blast.[1][3]
Griffin meanwhile fled the scene and stole a Volvo from a driveway that had the keys left in the ignition. He drove several blocks away and arrived at a Comerica branch bank.[1]
Bank mass shooting
editGriffin entered the Comerica branch bank and ordered everyone inside to get on the floor. According to customers and employees, they were confused as to what Griffin was doing, with some thinking it was a holdup, and others claiming he did not demand any cash. Griffin then ordered everyone lying on the floor to start singing the Lord's Prayer, instructing the security guard, 38-year-old Virene Brown, to lead them. Griffin sang with them and continued to yell obscenities between his singing. He then pointed his shotgun at Brown's head and said he was going to kill her. However, he became distracted, and Brown fled into the basement.[1][4]
As people lay on the floor, Griffin walked over to 25-year-old James Isom, an employee of the bank, and fatally shot him in the head. Griffin then entered a back office and killed the bank manager, 52-year-old Stanley Pijanowski III. An assistant manager activated a silent alarm, alerting the police to the situation. Griffin meanwhile returned to the lobby and shot 38-year-old Lisa Griffin (no relation), the assistant bank manager, in her left hand and jaw. A woman along with her 10-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son then fled the bank.[1]
Griffin then left the bank and was met outside by multiple police officers. However, as Griffin came out, a van pulled up near him and out got 77-year-old Stanley Hays. Police ordered Hays to move away, but unaware of the situation, Hays headed toward the bank and was taken hostage by Griffin. The two of them headed toward an alley and Griffin fired at police, missing them. He then fatally shot Hays in the head. Police officers then fired multiple rounds at Griffin, killing him and ending the shooting spree.[1]
Victims
editThe victims were identified as:[5]
Killed
edit- James Isom, 25, bank employee[5]
- Stanley Pijanowski III, 52, bank manager[5]
- Stanley Hays, 77, bank customer[5]
Injured
editPerpetrator
edit.jpg)
The perpetrator was identified as 21-year-old Allen Lane Griffin Jr., a car wash employee and father of three children with addresses in Detroit and Ferndale. Griffin was supposedly despondent over a failed marriage with his wife who had filed for divorce not long before the shootings. Family members of Griffin also said he had a chronic drug problem.[6] He had been wanted for violating probation and was convicted in 1988, on a burglary charge. He was also convicted in 1993, on charges of carrying a concealed weapon and trying to deliver more than 50 grams of cocaine.[7]
Aftermath
editMore than a day after the shooting spree, a maintenance worker entered the boiler room in the bank's basement and found Brown still hiding down there. She was taken to St. John Hospital and was listed in good condition by the following day. Brown was not injured during the shooting and was only treated for dehydration and trauma.[4]
The shootings resulted in at least six lawsuits in Wayne County Circuit Court. The lawsuits claimed Comerica and Guardsmark both failed to provide adequate security. Several robberies had occurred in the bank before the shooting, and despite employees addressing concerns about their safety, Comerica failed to take adequate preventative steps to address the issues.[2]
Motive
editGriffin's motive for the shootings remains unclear. Lawyers for some of the victims claim the shootings were prompted by an alleged sex-for-money gay relationship between Griffin and Pijanowski.[8] Griffin and Pijanowski had supposedly met at the Jax Kar Wash in Birmingham where Griffin had previously worked as an employee. Pijanowski had supposedly received threats from Griffin after breaking off the relationship. According to security guard Virene Brown, Pijanowski had been on the phone with Griffin on the morning of the shootings. He did not instruct her to lock any of the doors. Two acquaintances of Pijanowski claimed he had received threats from Griffin and feared for his safety. The acquaintances later recanted their statements, however.[2]
Another possible motive was whether Griffin had been inspired by the North Hollywood Shootout, a shootout between two bank robbers and police officers in Los Angeles, California, which had occurred only eleven days prior. It was speculated that the Detroit shootings could have been a copycat crime of the North Hollywood Shootout.[6] Both shootings were compared, however, the Detroit Police Chief described the shootings as more of a random act of violence by a mentally unstable individual than a carefully planned bank robbery.[6][9] A fatal bank robbery in St. Louis, Missouri, that occurred a week after the Detroit shootings was said at the time to have been inspired by both the North Hollywood Shootout and the Detroit shootings.[10]
According to Griffin's family members, Griffin was depressed over his failed marriage with his wife who had filed for divorce not long before the shootings. He was also upset over the death of his grandmother in October 1996, which made him depressed and moody. He was also behind in his child support payments and had been arrested and jailed for a week in early 1997, for failing to pay child support. Two weeks prior to the shootings, Griffin's wife had prohibited him from seeing his son. According to Griffin's aunt, a therapist would have been unable to help him, and she described him as very suicidal. She said, "He didn't want to kill himself. He wanted somebody else to do it for him." Griffin's mother made similar comments. A week prior to the shootings, Griffin had told his mother that he did not have anything worth living for and that he wanted to die.[11]
Despite two years of litigation into the cause of the shootings, no definitive motive was ever concluded, and the motive remains a mystery.[2]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f Crumm, David; Krodel, Beth; Young, Alison (March 12, 1997). "Gun rampage in Detroit leaves 4 dead and 2 hurt". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1, 9. Retrieved July 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d Ashenfelter, David (July 2, 1999). "Killings at bank remain a mystery". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1B, 4B. Retrieved July 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c Migoya, David (March 12, 1997). "Bright future dimmed by shotgun blast". Detroit Free Press. p. 8. Retrieved July 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Guard found cowering in basement a day after gunman killed 3 at bank". Deseret News. March 13, 1997. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
- ^ a b c d Ashenfelter, David; Helms, Matt; Wendland, Wendy (March 12, 1997). "3 lives blown away". Detroit Free Press. p. 8. Retrieved July 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c Nauss, Donald W. (March 12, 1997). "4 Dead, 2 Hurt in Detroit Bank Shootout". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
- ^ "Gunman Kills 3, Is Slain By Police At Detroit Bank". The Washington Post. March 12, 1997. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
- ^ "Suit blames gunman's rage on banker sex". United Press International. July 8, 1997. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
- ^ Bradsher, Keith (March 12, 1997). "Gunman and 3 Others Are Killed at a Bank". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 25, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
- ^ Held, Kevin S. (June 11, 2022). "The botched 1997 St. Louis bank heist inspired by movies". KTVI. Archived from the original on June 25, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
- ^ Kresnak, Jack; Krodel, Beth; Murphy, Brian (March 12, 1997). "Trouble always managed to find Griffin family". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1, 8. Retrieved July 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.