According to the Detroit News, a 5-year-old boy was shot in the back after a gun fell to the ground.
Police arrived at a house where a babysitter aged 27 and six other children, ages 3-16, was playing when the boy was killed. They arrested the babysitter. The incident occurred at 9:15 p.m.
“We once again had another extremely irresponsible gun owner who came here with a young boy he was sitting with and came here to play with some friends. The story just keeps changing. It’s ridiculous,” said Assistant Chief Charles Fitzgerald of the Detroit Police.
“The first story was that the gun fell on the ground, and the little boy was shot in the back. He scooped the young boy up, was on the way to the hospital, and just down the street there was a medic unit from the city just finishing up a run. They were able to convey the child to Children’s Hospital,” Fitzgerald added.
According to reports, the child is stable.
Police were unable to locate the man’s gun, who is said to be a friend of her child’s mother.
Assistant Chief Fitzgerald stated, “Sometimes you just need to start thinking about others more than yourself.”
“We are still searching for the weapon.” We are able to understand what actually happened. It would have been much easier if he simply told the truth,” said the officer.
Fox 2 Detroit spoke with a neighbor, but could not provide additional details about the shooting.
It’s very sad. Peter, the neighbor of the child, said that this is the first time he’d heard about it.
He said, “In general we want to protect children.”
A 5-year-old boy from Detroit shot himself with a gun he left unattended in January 2023. The boy’s mother, a 3-year-old, two-year-old, and a newborn were all present at the scene.
