On the evening of Sunday, April 9, 2017, brothers Alex Stewart, 24, and Louis Phillips, 28, were fatally shot on Detroit’s west side. The shootings happened about 6:45 p.m. in the 20000 block of Schaefer Highway. A witness reported hearing gunshots and then seeing two men lying on the ground. Their mother, Lada Watts, arrived after being notified and found one of her sons lying where he would remain for seven hours.

Family remembered Alex as someone who loved drawing and Louis as having an interest in acting. The family had to plan two funerals and a GoFundMe page was created to help with expenses. Police later announced an arrest in the double homicide; a suspect was taken into custody on the evening of Wednesday, April 12, 2017, in the 2900 block of Liddesdale Street in Southwest Detroit, though the mother said another shooter remained at large.

A mistrial was later declared in the murder case against a suspect identified as Aubrey Giles Stanley Jr. after the defense attorney fell asleep during proceedings, a development the family said forced them to relive the tragedy. If anyone knew Alex or has information about the shooting, please come forward to help the family find answers.