Two siblings in Eastpointe, Michigan, are facing multiple charges related to a shooting near a Foot Locker store that occurred on May 3.
The altercation left two people dead and one seriously injured.
At around 2:50 p.m., Lakylia Taylor (19) and her brother Dejuan Taylor (21) arrived at the Foot Locker parking lot with some friends. After exiting the vehicle they began walking toward the store when they came across a Jeep Compass parked nearby. This vehicle contained another group of young men.
Tyjaune Pierre Morrs-Turner emerged from the Jeep with three others carrying a handgun and got into an argument with Dejuan. The verbal dispute soon turned physical, with the four men assaulting Dejuan and pinning him to the ground. Surveillance footage captured the confrontation.
As the four men beat Dejuan, Lakylia became frightened and returned to her vehicle and retrieved her brother’s pistol. She shot one of the individuals who had been on top of Dejuan before firing additional rounds at the other assailants. The footage appears to show Lakylia firing at one of the assailants while he was on the ground.
Footage of 19-year-old Lakylia Taylor shooting four men, k*lling two after they allegedly started jumping and pistol-whipping her brother
— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) July 24, 2025
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After the shooting, Dejuan allegedly picked up one of the assailant’s firearms and magazines from the ground before the siblings ran back to their car and fled the scene.
Lakylia later turned herself in two days after the incident after her attorney consulted with law enforcement. Dejuan was arrested around the same time period, although reports do not specify the exact date he was taken into custody.
Lakylia was charged with two counts of second-degree murder, assault with intent to do great bodily harm, two felony firearm counts for carrying and firing a gun during a felony, carrying a concealed weapon without a license, and tampering with evidence, according to Macomb Daily.
Dejuan is facing charges for firearm larceny for taking one of the assailant’s guns, carrying a concealed weapon, larceny for taking the magazines, and tampering with evidence.
Lakylia could be facing life in prison while Dejuan could spend up to 20 years if convicted of all charges.
Lakylia is being held in the Macomb County Jail on $2.5 million bond. Dejuan is also being held in the same facility on a $250,000 bond.
Randall Upshaw, Lakylia’s attorney argued that she should not be charged with second degree murder.
"She didn’t know this individual. She had no beef with this individual," he said, according to Fox 9. "But she’s crying out there watching her brother attempt to be murdered. At this point, she runs to the car and grabs what we believe to be her brother’s pistol."
Macomb County assistant prosecutor Kumar Palepu pointed out that “Miss Taylor is on video shooting the victims at point-blank range” and that she “repeatedly fired at one of the victims while he was on the ground.”
Judge Kathleen Galen rejected the defense’s argument because Lakylia had fired the gun 11 times during the altercation. She also pointed out that she did not possess a permit to carry the firearm that she used in the attack.
“Eleven rounds were discharged from the firearm that Lakylia Taylor had, killing two people, one of which appeared to be backing away from the fight in the video,” Galen said, according to Macomb Daily.. “On the issue of malice, her actions show that she had malice because she fired 11 shots which shows at the very least a reckless disregard for human life.”
The judge further argued that even though one of the assailants was brandishing a firearm, “at no time was it raised or pointed.”
So far, this looks like a case of self defense from where I sit. The footage clearly shows the four young men assaulting Dejuan. One of them was brandishing a firearm. There is no way Laylia could have known whether they were going to kill her brother. She did what many would have done — she defended her sibling.
She did not shoot the assailants after they finished beating Dejuan — she acted while the assault was happening.
It’s also worth noting how Michigan’s gun control laws allowed prosecutors to further charge both siblings simply for owning and carrying a firearm. These laws are aimed at allowing the government to target people simply for possessing the means by which they can defend themselves.
These two individuals could find themselves behind bars for a lengthy period of time for doing what the Second Amendment was meant for. This is the type of environment the anti-gunners want for Americans.
Editor’s Note: President Trump and Republicans across the country are doing everything they can to protect our Second Amendment rights and right to self-defense.
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