Family: Boy targeted after two people shot also saw 2024 murder

Added: 2026-05-09

[00:00:00]Police say that the 18-year-old accused of shooting a teen and a mom to death outside of a Grand Rapids elementary school also aimed that gun at a 9-year-old. They say the gun apparently misfired.

[00:00:13]But this wasn't the first time the 9-year-old has been caught up in violence. His family says he witnessed a murder 2 years ago. Target 8's Ken Kolker has that story.

[00:00:24]We were in court today when the accused killer, 18-year-old Rafael Martinez Lopez, was arraigned on two counts of open murder in the deaths of 38-year-old Savannah Rubio and 15-year-old Jeremiah Quevas Griffin.

[00:00:37]The 9-year-old boy is listed as a witness in the murder case, but police say he was almost a victim. Police say that after shooting Savannah Rubio and Jeremiah Quevas Griffin outside Southwest Elementary School on Tuesday, the suspect turned the gun on the 9-year-old. Apparently, the gun misfired. His grandfather says the boy has not talked much about it.

[00:00:59]>> Cuz he doesn't understand really how close he was to dying.

[00:01:04]He all he knows is the guy pointed the gun at him and he covered up and that's all he knows. The gun didn't go off.

[00:01:14]He doesn't know how a gun works. The grandfather says the boy also witnessed the fatal shooting in June 2024 of 15-year-old Amiliar Penn on New Matilla Street Southeast near Madison Avenue.

[00:01:26]Kind of the same thing. Somebody came out of the blue. They were out playing football on uh on Matilla and somebody came out in the blue and shot somebody dead. Shot a young man dead. 15 years old and they were there.

[00:01:41]So this is the second murder he's witnessed. Yes. It by the age of nine.

[00:01:45]Yes. The 9-year-old boy's big brother was also playing football and is listed as a witness in the case against the suspect in the Penn murder. The boy's grandfather says Savannah Rubio's family, his family, and Jeremiah were all close. Rubio and her husband were raising seven children and helping take care of his grandchildren. They had not much.

[00:02:08]They lived They lived on not much.

[00:02:12]They survived, but they were happy. They didn't need much. They don't need the Nike shoes and the expensive things, and they could just be together, and and they lived on love.

[00:02:23]And that's who they were. They were together on Tuesday at Southwest Elementary School with his 9-year-old grandson. Court documents show the suspect showed up with a gun after his little brother was not allowed to join in a soccer game. Jeremiah, the young victim, accepted the suspect's challenge to a fight. That police say is when the suspect opened fire with a.40 caliber Glock.

[00:02:45]Today, the 9-year-old's grandfather walked the woods behind his Lowell area home, where Jeremiah, Savannah's sons, and his grandsons built a treehouse with help from Savannah's husband.

[00:02:57]>> They built that by themselves. He says he and others are supporting Savannah's family. Now that she's gone, you know, it's going to be hard to keep that same thing going just because that one piece is missing.

[00:03:12]And that hurts the most.

[00:03:15]The suspect will be back in court later this month to determine if he'll stand trial. Now, family and friends of Savannah Rubio have set up a GoFundMe to help with funeral costs and support her family. We have a link to that on our website.