Richard Malone's shirt ripped as family members held him back from running to his cousin lying still on the floor in his Honolulu blue Barry Sanders jersey, shot and bleeding.
He thought maybe Rayshawn Bryant, a cousin he grew up with in Detroit, was still alive and just couldn't get up from the floor at Eastern Market, where their family was tailgating the Detroit Lions game on Sunday. Malone wanted to help, he said, but no one could get near Bryant while first responders attempted to save his life.
"That's when I lost it," Malone, 42, of Detroit said. "From kids to adults ... just to see him like that. I don't want to see him like that. I've never seen anything like that."
Bryant was pronounced dead at the scene. He celebrated his 40th birthday last month. His sister Ming Cora Little told the Free Press her brother also went by the name Rayshawn Palmer because that was the name of his adopted family.
More: 2nd person dies after shooting at Eastern Market’s Detroit Lions tailgate
Not even five minutes prior, Malone said he and his family were wrapping up the Detroit Lions tailgate they host nearly every home game. A few feet away from their tailgate at Shed 6, two men were arguing, screaming at each other, Malone said. He wasn't sure why.
Then the two men put up hands in preparation for a fight, Malone said, adding that Bryant tried to step in and calm the men down. Malone heard a gunshot. Everyone surrounding them began to run.
Detroit police confirmed two people were shot; Bryant was pronounced dead at the scene, and another man was in critical condition but later died. The other victim was not identified by authorities as of Monday night.
Detroit Police Chief James White said Sunday officers arrested a man from the Oakland County suburb of Oak Park who is in his 30s and is licensed to carry a gun. He said a fight between two men escalated about 4:30 p.m., when the suspect pulled out a gun and fired at least two rounds. Police provided no further details as of Monday.
Malone said his cousin was trying to break up the fight and said he doesn't know why the other two men were fighting.
After hearing the gunshot, Malone said he saw a man who wasn't his cousin "drop instantly." Malone got low to the floor and crawled to his family's tailgate RV, seeking shelter. He heard people start to cry out Bryant's name.
He didn't believe Bryant was shot. But when he did see his cousin's body:
"It messed me up," he said.
"You took a person away from everybody. For no reason," Malone said he wishes he could say to the man accused of killing his cousin.
"Calm down. Be a leader. You could have did that."
Nearby officers directing outbound traffic from the Lions game responded to the shooting, arrested the suspect, and recovered two guns, White had said.
The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office did not announce charges against the suspect as of Monday evening.
Bryant loved throughout the city, cousin says
Malone said his family has been checking in on one another, making sure no one is alone. But they're all in shock.
Bryant was a father, Malone said. And the east side native was loved by many – "From the east side to the west."
Another cousin of Bryant, Damieone Stafford, said his social media has been flooded with tributes to Bryant from loved ones, along with shock and devastation.
Bryant was genuine, someone you could count on and felt safe around, someone who "kept it real," Malone said. Stafford said Bryant wasn't one to get into a fight, and rarely was he angry.
"It always happens to the good ones, man," said Stafford, 49, of Detroit.
More: Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell calls Eastern Market shooting 'tragic'
Malone said Bryant radiated positivity and always loved to have a good time, whether it be throwing parties or tailgating the Lions, who were "hands down" Bryant's favorite team.
And he was an amazing dancer who was exceptionally good at the Detroit street dance known as "jit."
"There was nobody better than him," Malone said. And it didn't matter where he went, "he would challenge anyone to a dance."
Most of all, Malone said his cousin was loved because he always wanted to do something positive for others and for the city of Detroit.
"That's what he was about," he said. And that's how he'll remember him.
Andrea Sahouri covers criminal justice for the Detroit Free Press. She can be contacted at asahouri@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Cousin of Eastern Market shooting victim: 'You took a person away ... for no reason'
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