Veteran shot while biking home from work
This is a tragic story of a 54-year old veteran biking to and from work on Detroit’s west side. On Monday morning at 5:30am, he was shot in the leg and his bike was stolen.
Rick Neely is a 54-year-old. An army veteran who worked for a steel company for 20 years before losing his job in the economic crisis. Now, he rides dozens of miles to work each evening for his midnight shift at a packing plant.
But Monday morning, as he was riding home about 5:30, his family says four men on bicycles surrounded him – demanded his bike. They then shot him in the leg.
Neely has had his bike stolen twice before. He just got a new one last week. Now it’s gone too and he’s hospitalized.
Neely’s sister has already bought him a new bike. We wish him a speedy recovery.
Based on Fox 2’s reporting, it appears the crime happened on Michigan Avenue just east of Wyoming.
Property crimes and shootings are far from uncommon in Detroit. But before concluding the safety of biking in the city, one should recognize the likelihood that a greater number of pedestrians are assaulted and motorists carjacked. Still, it’s something to be aware of in most any major urban environment.