Through November [2004], there were 1,279 people shot in Detroit - 247 more than in all of 2003 - and 341 people have been killed.
Why is this city killing itself? What has it done to the community's soul? That's what the Free Press wants to show you, in this special series by staff writer Jeff Seidel and photographer Eric Seals.
After you meet the victims, after you travel with the detectives and see their frustrations and successes, after you walk through the neighborhoods and feel the tension and fear, you will find some surprises.
Jeff Seidel
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Seidel, 37, joined the Detroit Free Press in 1998 as a general assignment features reporter. He has covered everything from the Super Bowl to the war in Iraq. His specialty is writing stories about everyday people facing extraordinary circumstances. He has won several state and national awards, including the 2002 Delta Sigma Chi award for feature writing from the Society of Professional Journalists.
Eric Seals
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“If you learn to shoot with your heart, you’ll move peoples souls.” That phrase of inspiration, said to him in 1993 by one of his mentors at the Detroit Free Press is something photojournalist, Eric Seals thinks about on a daily basis when making pictures. Born in Detroit into a news junkie family in 1969, Seals knew in 10th grade that he wanted to be a photojournalist. Seals grew up reading the Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press and became more interested in looking at the pictures in the Detroit Free Press because the photographers seemed to make something out of nothing assignments and took more chances.
Request Publications
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Tragedies & Journalists
A 40-page guide to help journalists, photojournalists and editors report on violence while protecting both victims and themselves.
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Covering Children & Trauma
When children are victims of violence, journalists have a responsibility to report the truth with compassion and sensitivity.