Bowling coach fatally shoots former student in murder-suicide, Michigan cops say
A high school graduate’s former bowling coach fatally shot her in her stepdad’s home, then killed himself, Michigan deputies said.
The death of 17-year-old Gwen Smith has “shaken our entire Bedford community,” a loved one wrote in a GoFundMe. The “gifted student” recently graduated from Bedford High School, but left her mark on the club bowling team and music programs, her obituary and GoFundMe said.
“She was a vibrant, creative, yet goofy person who had a deep passion for all to be happy,” according to her obituary.
Her former coach, 33-year-old Ryne Leist, “gained entry” into the home on June 14 and shot Gwen multiple times, Monroe County Sheriff Troy Goodnough said during a June 18 news conference shared by WTVG. The girl’s stepdad arrived home to find the two dead, the sheriff said.
The method in which the coach got into the Bedford Township home is currently under investigation, deputies said.
Initially, Monroe County deputies said in a June 17 news release that Leist did not work for Bedford Public Schools.
However, Goodnough later corrected that statement saying Leist was pictured with the bowling team in the 2024-2025 yearbook, but he was paid to coach through the bowling establishment and not the school.
The sheriff said the teen and Leist were acquaintances, but the motive for the shooting was not released. Additionally, Leist resigned from his role at the Forest View Lanes before the shooting, deputies said.
Communications between Gwen and Leist in the days leading up to the shooting are under investigation.
Three days after the deadly shooting, two 16 year olds in a relationship were found shot to death in Raisinville Township, 15 miles from Bedford, deputies said during the news conference. Goodnough said the two shootings are not related.
“It’s been a difficult four and a half days,” Goodnough said.
Bedford Township is about a 55-mile drive southwest from Detroit.
This story was originally published June 20, 2025 at 4:17 PM with the headline "Bowling coach fatally shoots former student in murder-suicide, Michigan cops say."
