Macomb Township mom: Celebratory gunfire killed my daughter

DeAsia Paige | Detroit Free Press

Michelle Packard, 34, had a job waiting for her in Maryland as a medical researcher with the Department of Defense when she attended a Fourth of July fireworks show in Lansing in 2012.

She never made it to Maryland. That's because a bullet fell from the sky and struck her in the head, killing her, as the fireworks were starting.

Since then, Pam Leidlein, Packard's mother, has sent letters to the media every year warning about the dangers of celebratory gunfire.

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"If you would have asked me the day before she was killed if I thought gun violence would have affected my life, I would have said no way would that ever happen to my family," said Leidlein, who lives in Macomb Township.

'It's just something that grips my heart'

Packard was with her fiancé and his daughter when she was shot in Adado Park. Leidlein said that Packard had just received her doctoral degree from Michigan State University in biosystems engineering and had previously worked for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

"It's just something that grips my heart," Leidlein said. "To know that my daughter, that night, was in a safe place. She truly was. Lansing police had made sure that that park was safe and had looked through people's bags and making sure there were not any fireworks, firecrackers or guns. She was in a secure place."

While refraining from describing herself as a gun control proponent, Leidlein said that she has been involved in advocacy groups such as Moms Demand Action, has talked with legislatures about the issue of celebratory gunfire, and continues to educate the public about her story and the hazards of shooting a gun into the air.

"I'm not in favor of that term," Leidlein said when asked about gun control. "I'm not against the Second Amendment. I just want to educate people about safe use and safe storage of guns, including not shooting a gun in the air or leaving a gun out where it's available to children."

Leidlein said that no one knew that her daughter died from gunfire until a CAT scan revealed that there was a bullet in her brain.

A study by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that 80 percent of celebratory gunfire injuries are to the head, shoulders and feet. However, for those hit by falling bullets, death is more likely than injuries.

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"Another fact that I found very interesting is that people that are hit by a bullet that comes from above, one third of those victims die compared to the two to three percent of just regular gunfire victims," Leidlein said.

Mark Lewandowsky, the lead detective with Lansing Police Department on Packard's case, said that her case is still open.

"I actually retired in January, so I would say yes, (it is an open case), but it's inactive," Lewandowsky said. "By inactive, I mean there are no leads that are being worked on."

Typically, celebratory gunfire cases are hard to prosecute because of the trajectory of the bullet, Lewandowsky said.

"Where Michelle was seated in the park that night, it was a gated, fenced-off area with a very large police presence, and we know that the bullet came from a distance away," Lewandowsky said. "It wasn't a matter of somebody next to (Michelle) or even in the park that fired the gun."

Lewandowksy, who now works for the State of Michigan's Office of Investigative Services, said he remains in close contact with Leidlein.

If a suspect were found, Leidlein said she hopes the person could help her efforts to end celebratory gunfire.

"I would like to talk to that person if they were ever found and tell them about my daughter and maybe have that person be with me in educating others about the dangers," Leidlein said.

This Fourth of July, like every year since her daughter's death, Leidlein plans to go somewhere quiet to honor her daughter's death. Leidlein no longer attends fireworks displays and doesn't like hearing fireworks in her neighborhood.

"This time of the year is a very difficult time of the year for me, Michelle's sister, and anyone who knew my daughter," Leidlein said. "I'm renting a cabin in Kentucky this year with my sister-in-law and a close friend so I can be in a quiet, peaceful place on the Fourth of July," Leidlein said.