On the morning of June 14, 1971, a mass shooting at 1970 Hazelwood Street in Detroit left eight people dead, including 19-year-old Narcissa Lee Tessie Brown. The attack has been called the Hazelwood massacre and is described as the largest mass murder in Detroit’s history. Investigators believed the primary target was Robert Gardner, named by police as a heroin dealer and pimp, and that the killings were retaliation by two drug dealers from Toronto whom Gardner had reportedly robbed in March 1971. Narcissa and six other victims are said to have been killed to eliminate witnesses to Gardner’s murder.

Neighbors reported hearing gunshots, and Gardner’s wife discovered the scene and drove her wounded husband to a hospital. Victims in the living room had been shot, many at close range. Ballistics evidence at the scene included cartridges from a .30-caliber carbine, a .32-caliber pistol, and a .45-caliber automatic. Despite a lengthy investigation and police suspicions about the Toronto dealers, no one has been identified as a suspect and no arrests were made, leaving the case unsolved.

If anyone knew Narcissa, the household at that address, or has information about the people mentioned, please share what is known.