The bookseller documents Monday's vandalism. (Photos: Susan Murphy)
A popular retailer on Grand River Avenue is closed for at least a day as owner Susan Murphy and her staff clean up from window-shattering gunfire Monday before Pages Bookshop opened.
"We are okay," the Northwest Detroit merchant posts on social media with these photos showing "the store was damaged by gunfire."
"We are grateful that no staff or customers were in the shop at the time, and no injuries were reported related to the incident. Pip [her cat] was later found hiding behind a bookcase, very shaken up, so she'll be getting loved on a whole bunch in the days to come.
"The store will be closed Tuesday while we clean up, calm down, and ready ourselves to carry on. We may need more time."
Cleanup needed on Grand River Avenue.
In a Tuesday afternoon update, the retailer adds perspective: "We are overwhelmed by the support we've received in the last 24 hours. ... A few bullets damaged a few books in our case, but for many of our fellow Detroiters, the after-effects [of gun violence] are far more tragic and long-lasting."
Murphy, a former corporate information systems specialist, opened her business in August 2013 "to share my passioin for reading." The entrepreneur moved in May 2015 to 19560 Grand River Ave., between Outer Drive and Evergreen in space leased from the Grandmont Rosedale Development Corp., a community nonprofit.
Even before the pandemic's impact, her independent bookstore has survived in a tough niche dominated by Amazon and other online sellers.
