A grocery run on Detroit's east side turned into a nightmare today when a 6-year-old girl was found fatally shot inside a car in the parking lot of a store near Gratiot and Harper. Police say the child's mother had gone inside to shop and came back to find her daughter shot in the vehicle. The girl was rushed to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Detroit police have opened an investigation into the killing.
Sources told Metro Detroit News that another child got hold of an unsecured firearm inside the car and accidentally shot the 6-year-old while the mother was in the store. Police were on the scene today and say the investigation is still active, with no arrests announced so far. Metro Detroit News also reported that this is the third separate shooting involving children in less than a week.
Legal questions and Michigan's safe-storage law
Michigan's secure-storage law requires gun owners to keep firearms unloaded and locked or stored in a locked container when a minor is, or is likely to be, present, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Public Act 17 of 2023 took effect on Feb. 13, 2024, and state officials have pushed free gun lock distribution and public education campaigns as prevention tools. Under that law, if investigators determine an owner knew or should have known that a child could access an unsecured firearm, criminal charges or other legal consequences may follow.
Another incident earlier this week
The shooting in the grocery store parking lot came on the heels of another terrifying case. On March 1, Metro Detroit News reported that a 6-year-old girl accidentally shot herself after finding an unsecured gun inside a home on Artesian near Southfield and Joy Road. That child was taken to the hospital and listed in stable condition. Investigators said the girl's guardian was reportedly asleep at the time. Local reporters and officials say several recent incidents involving minors and unsecured firearms have prompted renewed outreach around safe storage.
A troubling pattern
Police and local reporting point to a bigger pattern behind these tragedies. Minors were involved in about 120 fatal and nonfatal shootings in Detroit in 2023, up from 53 in 2019, and officials have stressed safe storage as a key prevention measure, according to WXYZ. Leaders at the Detroit Police Department and the Wayne County prosecutor's office have urged parents and guardians to use gun locks and safes to keep weapons out of children's reach. Community groups and city agencies continue to promote lock distribution and education programs in an effort to stop more shootings before they happen.
The Detroit police investigation into Monday's deadly shooting remains ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detroit police. As of this report, officials have not announced any arrests or charges.
