Police release new photos related to Kent drive-by that killed infant; parents plead for help



KENT -- It’s been 19 days with no arrest in the drive-by shooting that killed a 1-year-old in Kent.

On Monday, Kent police released new surveillance pictures hoping it will lead to an arrest.

“I’m lost and sick. I wake up and I want to hear my baby,” Lisa Lynch said.

But Lynch will never hear her baby’s voice again. The 1-year-oold girl died from a gunshot to the head while sitting in her car seat at the intersection of Lake Fenwick and Reith Road.

Mom and dad were sitting in the front seat of their car when another car drove by and someone opened fire.

“We believe this murder was gang-related,” Kent Police Chief Ken Thomas said.



Police now say they don’t believe Malijah Grant’s murder is random.

A search warrant revealed that the mother told detectives the baby’s father, Martrice Grant, is a gang member, but that he hasn’t been active recently.

On Monday, Grant denied any involvement in gangs.

“The news has painted me to be some hardened gangster that I am not," Grant said. "This is not gang violence on our behalf, we played no part in that, let's make that clear."

Grant said he’s just a grieving father, desperate to catch the people who killed his baby girl.

“Please help us. That’s what you need to do, stop running, be a man,” Grant said of the shooter.

Police released new images from surveillance video of a four-door black sedan they believe the killers were driving. Detectives are still trying to figure out the make and model.

Police have also zeroed in on a gray 2007 Pontiac Grand Am with a burned-out brake  light. Investigators say the people in that car saw the shooting but didn’t stop and have never come forward. Police also say the Pontiac is stolen.

“We know a lot of people, someone is not talking,” Lynch said.

Although the father denies being a gang member, detectives say he is affiliated with a street gang that is currently feuding with another. They say there has been up to 15 gang-related shootings in a span of a month before the infant’s murder.