DETROIT (WXYZ) — It’s been almost a year and a half since a triple gas station shooting in Detroit claimed the life of a man and injured two others.
The shooting happened in May 2023 at a Mobil gas station on near McNichols Road and The Lodge.
The three victims were locked inside the gas station by the store's clerk, while he and the shooter were arguing over a theft that police say totaled to about $3.
Related video: Court throws out manslaughter charge against clerk in Detroit gas station shooting
Gregory Karlos Samuel Kelly, 37, was fatally shot. Two other people were wounded. One of those victims was Kelly's best friend David Langston.
On Thursday, the suspected shooter, Samuel McCray, pleaded guilty to the charges.
“I feel that my son’s death has been vindicated somewhat,” said Marilyn Fortner, Kelly’s mother.
Fortner felt a sense of relief leaving court Thursday and seeing McCray take a plea in the case.
“It has been very traumatic for us. I just never imagined life being without him,” Fortner said.
She feared having to live through a trial for her son’s death.
“I don’t have to relive seeing that video. I don’t have to worry about seeing him extensively during the trial in court every day because it’s hard to see somebody that’s taken a loved one from you,” Fortner said.
Kelly was a father of three and Fortner’s only child. The mother of Kelly’s kids, Kaiyah Simon, said it is really taking a toll on them.
“My children just hurting every day. They miss their father. They love their father so much. Their father loved them,” Simon said. “They miss him every day. They’re hurting every day.”
Fortner says the guilty plea also relieves the other two victims from reliving the day their lives flashed before their eyes. Fortner said Langston watched her son fall to the ground and die.
“David is suffering a lot,” Fortner said.
But Fortner says the guilty plea will give Langston some relief also.
“With this decision, it gives some closure to some of the things that he’s been going through,” she said.
Fortner says she is hoping that at the sentencing, the shooter will get the maximum.
“Yes, my son is looking down from heaven like thank you, ma, you got it done, Fortner said.”
The sentencing in this case will be held next month at the Wayne County Criminal Justice Center.
