About a hundred Detroiters converged in front of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in downtown Detroit on July 6 to protest the recent wave of killings and shootings that have many looking over their shoulders while on the streets.

The rally took place on the same day that Detroit Mayor Dave Bing tapped Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans as Detroit’s new police chief.

While demanding justice for the victims of homicide in the city, the organizers also held a candlelight vigil as a tribute to those whose lives were lost, including slain Detroiter Damian Onwuzulike.

“What we are witnessing in Detroit is becoming unbearable,” said Gerald Dike, the rally host. “The time is now to act and make Detroit a safer place for all of us. We want to be safe in our neighborhoods.”

Detroit Chief of Police Warren Evans.  Photo- Andre Smith photos

Chris Onwuzurike, brother of Damian Onwuzulike, said his brother, a retired engineer, left behind three beautiful children.

“These crimes, if not stopped, will continue to hinder growth and progress in Detroit,” he said while recalling how hard-working Damian was.

Onwuzurike’s body was found burned beyond recognition and dumped in an abandoned home on Oakfield Street. He was last seen leaving
his Wal-Mart job in Dearborn at midnight, June 15, at the end of that shift. He was last heard from at 5:28 p.m. that day when he sent a text message to his daughter’s cell phone.

He was a Ford Motor Co. automotive engineer retiree who owned 46 rental properties in Detroit.

“We are asking the authorities to pay attention to these senseless murders,” Chris Onwuzurike said. “Detroit cannot allow its spirit to be broken by these cowardly acts.”

Detroit Police Sgt. James Hawthorne, the investigator assigned to Damian’s case, had not return calls at press time.

During the rally Bertram Marks, general counsel for the Detroit Council of Baptist Pastors & Vicinity, who led the vigil, challenged those with information to come forward and those with guns to turn them in.

“The time has come for us to put an end to this violence in our streets and in our schools,” Marks said. “If we are going to solve this problem of violence now, let us disarm ourselves first. I urge you, I beg you to lay down that gun. Let’s stop the madness. If we are really committed to stopping the violence, let’s do something about it.”

Detroit City Councilman Kwame Kenyatta challenged area churches to respond to the violence plaguing the neighborhoods.

“Shut the church down on Sunday and march your parishioners on the streets,” Kenyatta said, adding that it will take a collective effort to address the crisis.

Kenyatta said it is about time that residents start speaking out. He said those harboring the criminals must stop.

Council member JoAnn Watson, in a similar tone, called for togetherness in addressing violence while giving a moving tribute to Damian Onwuzurike’s life as committed Detroiter.

“We are appealing to the entire community, the Detroit Police Department and other security agencies to come together and work in partnership to stem the tide of these horrific and violent acts that have claimed lives of many innocent victims,” Onwuzurike’s family said in a release. “If these violent criminals are not apprehended and quickly brought to justice, the streets of this great city will remain unsafe, thereby exacerbating the mass exodus from the city.”

Damian Onwuzurike’s family is offering a $5,000 reward to anyone with information that will lead to the apprehension of the culprits in his slaying.

The family has set up a memorial fund at Comerica Bank and is asking that donations be made payable to the Damian Onwuzulike Memorial Fund in person or mailed to P.O Box 4177, Southfield, MI 48034.

A mass is scheduled for July 17 at St. Cecilia’s Church, 10400 Stoepel, in Detroit, at 5 p.m. It will followed by a wake keeping at the Plaza Hotel, 16400 J.L. Hudson Drive, Southfield.

E-mail bthompson@michronicle.com.