Police chief blames gangs for shooting at funeral

Detectives make arrest in Monday’s shooting following the funeral  of Raymond McDaniel.

Teesha McClam/Family members of murder victim Raymond McDaniel talk to the media after an unidentified man attempted to shoot someone in a vehicle after the memorial service for Raymond McDaniel at St. Paul Global Outreach Ministries in Dayton on Monday, May 11.

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By Lucas Sullivan, Staff Writer Updated 5:56 PM Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Homicide detectives believe last week’s slaying outside an apartment complex and Monday’s shooting outside a church sanctuary are related and part of ongoing conflict between “groups.”

Gang-related shootings have accounted for nearly half of the city’s 14 homicides this year, Dayton police Chief Richard Biehl said.

The shot fired after Raymond “Byrd” McDaniel’s funeral Monday, May 11, outside St. Paul Global Outreach Ministries on Germantown Street was the third in eight months to occur during a memorial service or vigil.

Two men died in the first two shootings. No one was hurt Monday.

Nearly 1,000 people gathered at the church about 1 p.m. to mourn McDaniel’s death. As they exited the edifice, a man dressed in black fired a shot at a member of McDaniel’s family before his gun jammed and he ran.

On Tuesday, May 12, detectives tracked the gunman to his house in the 1200 block of Kumler Avenue and arrested him there at about 2 p.m. His name was not released.

McDaniel was gunned down outside the Western Manor apartments May 4 in what detectives said appeared to be a gang-related robbery.

Biehl said the attacks at what are supposed to be peaceful gatherings are a concern, but “it needs to be repeated that the people involved or at these events have been living a high-risk lifestyle and have put themselves in position to become victims of violent crime.”

Biehl has grappled with his feelings of anger and frustration in the wake of the recent shootings, but said those who feel hopeless need to find courage instead of resorting to violence.

Biehl was responding to comments Bishop Mark C. McGuire of St. Paul made Monday after his church was the scene of the gang-related attack on McDaniel’s relatives.

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