A 2-year-old child is in critical condition after being shot with an unsecured firearm inside a home on Detroit's west side Tuesday morning, according to police. The child's mother had been cooking breakfast when she heard a loud pop and discovered the toddler had been shot, Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison said. The child's 4-year-old brother was also in the home at the time.
Detroit police reported that the 2-year-old was shot inside the home, according to WXYZ Channel 7, which listed the child in critical condition following the shooting. Police said it remains unclear exactly what led to the child being shot. Accounts differ on the precise location of the home: WXYZ described it as being in the 12900 block of Evergreen near W. Davison, while ClickOnDetroit placed it in the area of Evergreen Road and I-96, and FOX 2 Detroit reported the incident happened at about 8 a.m. at a residence in the 12900 block of Evergreen near I-96.
Investigators Still Piecing Together What Happened
ClickOnDetroit reported that Bettison did not specify whether it was the 2-year-old who fired the weapon or someone else inside the home. The station also reported that nobody was in custody as investigators worked to determine exactly what occurred. FOX 2 Detroit reported that Bettison said the firearm was registered to the child's mother.
The open questions in this case echo a separate shooting Detroit police have investigated on the city's west side, in which an 11-year-old boy was shot in the face. In that case, per the same radio station's report, Bettison said the boy's parents weren't home when a child in the house found and picked up the gun, and police had not identified who fired it. The children were ages 11, 9 and 4. That boy was last listed in critical condition, and his father was later arrested, according to Audacy.
Police Renew Call for Secure Gun Storage
Bettison said parents are responsible for securing their firearms, whether with a gun lock or a safe, and that keeping a weapon in a purse or on a shelf is not enough. He said free gun locks are available at local police precincts for families who need them.
Michigan law addresses this exact scenario. A state statute cited in the record says a person who leaves a firearm unattended on premises under their control, and who knows or reasonably should know a minor is or is likely to be present, must take one or more required precautions, according to the Michigan Legislature's published text of the act. Those precautions include storing the firearm in a locked box or container, or keeping it unloaded and securing it with a properly engaged locking device.
