April 12 Kalamazoo Shooting: Montine Wiley Jr. Killed While Protecting Others at Work

On downtown Kalamazoo streets, hope and change-filled life was lost. Montine “Mizzle” Wiley Jr., father, mentor, and businessman at age 27, was killed by gunfire on April 12, 2025, while working as security at Green Door Distilling Co. What is most tragic about Wiley’s story is that he was not another young man lost to senseless violence. He was a man who had fought to keep from meeting this fate and was working to make it possible for others to do the same too. Wiley’s early years were not good ones.

As a young man, he was headed down a perilous path, waving guns and being a nuisance. But that was reversed when he met Michael Wilder of “Peace During War,” an antiviolence program in Kalamazoo. Wilder saw something in Wiley – a spark to be cultivated. And slowly, under direction, Wiley started to steer his life in a different direction. By his 18th birthday, he’d already left the streets and devoted himself to encouraging others to make better choices. Wiley was just doing that, saving others, when he was killed that night.

He was working for his uncle and father then, serving security for a highly crowded private bash at Green Door Distilling Co. The facility was crowded, and the mood was bitter. Wiley’s family reports, he met someone being turned away from one of the doors and attempted to enter through the other door. While Wiley was leading him away from the crowd into the parking lot, the man pulled a gun and killed him. Even though there were Kalamazoo Public Safety officers on the scene, the gunman was able to get away. Montine Wiley Sr., Wiley’s father, was also shocked as police and emergency workers tried to rescue his son but were unable to reach him. Wiley Jr. was rushed to the hospital, but it was too late. He left a gap not only in his family’s life, but in the community that he so fought and hard struggled to protect.

He didn’t need that,” his tearful father wailed, attempting to comprehend what had happened. Wiley’s mother, Taneka Dumas, who returned to Kalamazoo when she was notified, felt the weight of his loss. “Mizzle’s mantra was always, ‘We gotta get everybody home safe,'” she said. “And he lived it.”.

Wiley wasn’t just making it in Kalamazoo – he was trying to change it. As an entrepreneur, Platinum Protection security company owner, and Mike’s Lawn Care owner, he employed troubled youth and gave them something besides the streets. He gave them second chances, often cutting grass for people who couldn’t afford full price. He wasn’t driven by money – he was driven by purpose. His life commenced at age 15.

In the wake of school address by Wilder and Yafinceio “Big B” Harris, who talked about how they had abandoned gang violence for working for peace themselves, Wiley seized the moment subsequently to walk across to Wilder and introduced himself as being amongst the youths to whom they were speaking. He pulled up his hoodie and showed Wilder the gun stuck in his waistband and explained to him why he had it there, that he had it because his big brother was getting shot at and he did not want him to think he was him. Instead of sending Wiley on his way, Wilder surprised him by doing something unexpected. Wilder gave the young man his number, and the two began dating regularly. “He’d always have some other gun,” Wilder said, “but eventually, that stopped.” Three years passed with Wilder showing him the way, and Wiley came up to him one day and said, “I don’t carry my gun no more.” That was a turning point.

When the Group Violence Intervention program began in Kalamazoo in 2018, Wiley was Wilder’s second hire. He fought against gun violence, defused tensions, and persuaded young men that there was a different way to be. His ability to relate to people moving down the same path he had been on made him invincible.

“He was a change agent,” Wilder said. “He demonstrated that people can change. He had every reason not to but he did it anyway.”

The same violence he battled so fiercely to eradicate claimed his life also. “Our culture has its treasures in the cemetery,” Wilder said. “Montine was one of them. A gifted, kind man who used his gift to improve others.”

Wiley’s death has left Kalamazoo reeling. His family is grieving not just the loss of a son, a brother, a father but the loss of a leader. His mother hopes that her son’s death will serve as a wake-up call for the community. “We need to stop this bleeding,” she said. “I’m tired of funeral homes being the only place families come together. Everybody deserves to get home safe.”

A visitation will be conducted April 25 for Wiley at Harper Funeral Home, with a funeral the following day. Wiley is survived by a son, Davonte, a fiancée, and a second unborn child. He left behind a legacy of redemption, compassion, and service.

Even though his life was cut short, Montine Wiley Jr.’s legacy will endure in the lives and hearts he touched and the lives he changed. His name will never be forgotten because he believed in something bigger than himself. He believed in peace.

Photo: Ryan Boldrey | MLive.com