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Map of the car chase
Below is a map pulled together by Midtown resident Josh Duggan after following the police scanner:
UPDATE (11:47 p.m.): At approximately 11:30 p.m., Rodrick Dantzler shot himself, bringing the standoff to an end. Both hostages have been freed and are safe.
To all Rapidians who contributed or mulled over your fellow Rapidians' contributions, thank you. An unbelievable day, and probably most of us thought this couldn't be happening in Grand Rapids. But whatever we thought, it still continued to happen, and now we're left to come to terms with it as a community. Please do help your fellow Rapidians come to terms with it. That's what a space like The Rapidian is for.
Since this afternoon, Rodrick Dantzler has been the lead suspect of multiple homicides across the city. Seven people have been reported dead, and thousands are tuned into the police scanner. MLive has compiled a timeline in the form of live coverage while WZZM and WOODTV are streaming video coverage on their sites.
You have something just as valuable to contribute in the way of information as the police scanner and other media outlets. MLive has notified us that this is the highest body count in a mass murder in Grand Rapids history, so please inform your community: When did it hit you that this was really happening? Were you and are you close enough to feel the effects? Please comment below.
Grand Rapidians have now followed the chase for six hours. Below are some media that Grand Rapidians have shared with The Rapidian using Twitter, Facebook and other means.
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Comments
I was sitting at home putting together a positive, beautiful event for the breatfeeding mothers of Grand Rapids. I was actually right in town in a few of those locations getting some footage of GR to use in a video project, too. I don't have TV anymore, so I heard about it on Facebook....but, I'm tied to the computer waiting for it to be over. My daiughter is 9.5, right around the little girls age who was shot today. I can not imagine looking in her little face, or the terrified faces of other people I once claimed to love and pull the trigger. It's very stressful and scary.
About 10-15 minutes before the car chase went right down the same route, i was just driving down plainfield from ann south through downtown, with my son in the car with me. If I had chatted just a few minutes more with my friend, I could have been caught in the middle of the chase.
Praying everyone stays safe and that this situation is over peacefully, and soon.
Glad you and your son are okay Holly!
My boyfriend and I were in the car on the way home from the dog park with our puppy. After getting home my boyfriend came into our bedroom and, with a grave face, told me we missed the murderer by minutes. It shook us both to the core.
I'm thinking about the shootings in Arizona where Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was injured and others killed. They are still dealing with the effects on their community.
This pursuit went through my neighborhood and is ongoing in my parents' neighborhood. The pictures on the news are the places I grew up.
I'm also thinking that there are plenty of places in the city where I pay no attention to reports of violence. I'm confronting some very uncomfortable feelings about that.
There is nothing to know and nothing to do tonight except what public safety asks of us to minimize further harm. We're going to need a long, long time to process this, and I commit to my community, and I hope going forward my whole community, for the long haul.