SOUTHFIELD (WWJ) — Police are still searching for answers more than a year after a Ferndale teen was shot and killed inside a Southfield hotel room.
Early in the morning of Feb. 11, 2024, five unsupervised teens were partying at the Westin Hotel, on Town Center near Northwestern Hwy., when 15-year-old Tyler Johnson of Ferndale was shot in the head.
He died in the hospital several days later.
During a press conference Wednesday morning providing updates in the case, Southfield police officials said the four other teens who witnessed the shooting still aren’t coming forward with details.
While police at the time recovered two weapons — including a stolen Glock with an extended magazine — from the waistband of another 15-year-old and he was charged with weapons offenses, no charges have been filed as it relates to Johnson’s death.
On Wednesday Southfield Police Chief Elven Barren said investigators have “a good idea” of which teen pulled the trigger, but declined to say whether they believe the shooting was accidental or not.
Barren also said the families of all four teens have retained lawyers and are not giving them any useful information in interviews.
“We have four witnesses to this senseless crime. And at this time none of them have come forward to give us an understanding of what transpired,” Barren said.
The chief said investigators have physical evidence and circumstantial evidence, but without an eyewitness willing to cooperate, they’ve been unable to forward the case to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office.
“I need at least one of the four to have the courage to come forward and give us the information that we need,” Barren said.
At the time of Johnson’s death, police officials said an adult booked the hotel room where the teens stayed the night, but they were left unsupervised. That adult, however, has not been charged because authorities would have to prove they knew they were contributing to the delinquency of a minor when booking the room, Barren said.
Anyone who knows something about Johnson’s death is asked to contact Southfield police.