Investigators say the case began with a refused request to join a game and ended with two homicide charges.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A homicide investigation that began with reports of gunfire near a school led police to a nearby home, an 18-year-old suspect and charges in the deaths of two people at a playground.
Grand Rapids police said the May 5 shooting outside Southwest Elementary School unfolded after a dispute over who could join an informal soccer game. The dead were identified as Jeremiah Griffin-Cuevas, 15, and Savanah Rubio, also known as Savanah Villarreal, a mother who relatives said was supervising children at the field. Rafael Martinez-Lopez, 18, was arrested shortly after the shooting and later charged with murder and weapons offenses.
The first call sent officers to Oakland Avenue SW and Rumsey Street SW at about 6:40 p.m. Police arrived to find two people with life-threatening gunshot wounds on school property. Jeremiah was pronounced dead at the scene. Rubio was taken to a hospital, where she later died. From the start, investigators treated the location as a broad scene because the shooting happened near a playground, with children present and school property involved. Officers gave aid, secured the area and began interviewing witnesses while other officers searched for the person who had fled.
Police said the witness accounts pointed to a short chain of events. Children and older juveniles were playing soccer near Southwest Elementary when Martinez-Lopez, or his younger brother, sought to join them. The request was refused. Interim Police Chief Joe Trigg said the refusal angered the suspect and led to a verbal altercation. “Did not like the fact that he was turned away so a verbal altercation started,” Trigg said. Investigators said the argument ended when Martinez-Lopez pulled a gun and shot Jeremiah. Rubio then came toward Jeremiah to help him and was shot too.
The search did not last long. Police said Martinez-Lopez ran from the area, but officers found him at a nearby residence and arrested him without further violence. The department later said detectives worked to finalize the case for the Kent County Prosecutor’s Office. The medical examiner’s rulings confirmed that both deaths were homicides. Police identified Martinez-Lopez publicly and announced charges that included two counts of open murder, two felony firearm charges and three additional weapons charges. Authorities also said court records accused him of trying to shoot another child, but the gun failed to discharge.
That alleged failed shot added another layer to the case because police had already said several juveniles witnessed the violence. Trigg said at least seven or eight children or older juveniles were there, watching what happened to their friend and to the woman who came to help. The chief called that especially horrific. Investigators have not publicly released a complete map of where each witness stood, nor have they described all statements taken from the children. The broad account, however, places the witnesses close enough that the school district quickly organized crisis support for families and students.
Southwest Elementary and Southwest Middle High School were closed the day after the shooting. The elementary school stayed closed the following day, while the district opened its doors for a limited period so families could connect with crisis teams and receive sack lunches. Officials said additional counseling and support would be available when school resumed. The closures became part of the investigative timeline because they allowed police and the district to separate the needs of a crime scene from the needs of a school community that had just lost two people near a place children knew well.
The victim identifications brought family accounts into the public record. Relatives said Rubio was a mother of eight and had been watching children play because of earlier concerns around the field. Family members said Jeremiah was a friend of Rubio’s son. Jeremiah’s mother, Mildred Griffin, said Rubio was not simply an adult nearby but someone her son knew and trusted. “She gave her life to save my son,” Griffin said. Griffin also said Jeremiah was active in church, attending youth group on Wednesdays and services on Sundays. Her comments pushed back against any attempt to reduce her son to the final moments of the shooting.
Friends also described the victims in human terms as the criminal case advanced. Luiz Lopez, a close family friend, called Jeremiah bighearted and caring. “I am really going to miss him,” Lopez said. Rubio’s sister, Angelita Tierrablanca, said Rubio loved children and acted selflessly. At a vigil, about 100 people gathered for a balloon release to honor the two victims. The scene contrasted sharply with the police account: balloons, embraces and memorial items standing in for a soccer game that had ended with detectives, emergency crews and a taped-off schoolyard.
Martinez-Lopez appeared in court and was ordered held without bond. His attorney said he had no prior criminal record. Prosecutors are expected to continue the case through early hearings, where the charges, witness statements, firearm evidence and any video or forensic material can be reviewed. Police have not publicly answered all remaining questions, including how the gun was obtained and whether any prior contact between the suspect and children at the field played a role. Those unknowns leave the court record as the next place where a fuller timeline may emerge.
As of May 27, Martinez-Lopez remained jailed without bond while the homicide case continued in Kent County. Grand Rapids police have said Savanah Rubio and Jeremiah Griffin-Cuevas deserve justice, and the next milestone will be the continued court review of the murder and weapons charges filed after the playground shooting.
Author note: Last updated May 27, 2026.