A late-morning shooting on Detroit’s east side left a young boy hospitalized yesterday after police say he shot himself in the foot with a firearm that should never have been in his hands.
The incident unfolded around 11:30 a.m. in the 13600 block of Pinewood, between Schoenherr and Reno streets. The child was taken to a hospital and listed in stable condition, and as of now no one is in custody while detectives work to piece together how the gun wound up with a child.
What happened
Details are still slim. FOX 2 Detroit reports that officers were called to the scene shortly after the boy shot himself in the foot around 11:30 a.m. He was transported to a hospital, where he is being treated in stable condition.
Investigators are now trying to determine how the child got access to the firearm and whether any adults may be legally responsible. Police have not released the boy’s age or the name of the hospital caring for him.
Why it matters
Unintentional shootings involving children remain a major public-health concern. Michigan Medicine and other experts note that firearm injuries have been rising and are now a leading cause of death for young people.
Public-health agencies and hospitals have pushed safe-storage efforts, including locked containers and cable locks, as a straightforward way to prevent many of these tragedies. Detroit has seen similar incidents before; CBS Detroit reported that a 2-year-old was shot on the city’s east side in November 2024.
Legal context
Michigan’s secure-storage law generally requires that firearms be unloaded and locked or kept in a locked container when a minor is, or is likely to be, present. It also creates criminal penalties for adults who fail to comply.
The statute, listed as MCL 28.429, includes felony-level penalties when an improperly stored gun is fired and causes serious injury or death, according to the Michigan Legislature. If detectives determine the firearm in Tuesday’s case was left unsecured, prosecutors could weigh charges related to negligent storage or the harm that resulted.
What parents can do
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and the Michigan State Police have been handing out free cable-style gun locks at local MDHHS offices and through Project ChildSafe to help families secure firearms. The agencies highlight these efforts in a Michigan State Police press release.
Anyone with information about Tuesday’s shooting can call the Detroit Police Department’s telephone crime reporting line at 313-267-4600, according to the city’s hotline list. This story will be updated as police release more details.
