A challenge for city officials: Fourth of July

Something has to be done.
Fallout from the Fourth of July mayhem is still on the minds of many in Hamtramck.
Folks are wondering just what the city will do about preventing this from happening next year.
So far, we’ve heard little from city officials, but we know it’s being worked on. Obviously, the plan of simply containing the youths to one area instead of dealing with them spilling into neighborhoods doesn’t cut it.
City officials and community leaders have a year to prepare to make sure this isn’t repeated.
We obviously can’t solely depend on police officers to handle this situation. Instead, it’s going to need an all-hands-on-deck approach.
Mayor Adam Alharbi released a statement focusing on the need of elders in the community to rein in their kids. We have little faith in this happening.
Instead, we need to take a creative approach on educating our young folks on the dangers they posed to themselves and others.
One thing is for sure, this city will not tolerate a repeat of what happened.
Hamtramck looked like a war zone on the night of the Fourth. And local media, especially television news stations, pounced on this. Hamtramck looked like a city thrown into chaos.
This was a real gut punch to Hamtramck.
We expect our elected leaders, who were not on the scene to help quell the youths, to actually step up and deliver something to the community.
Come on Hamtramck. We can do better.
Posted July 17, 2026