5-Year-Old Mich. Boy Fatally Shoots Himself in Front of Siblings: Police
The child was left unattended and his parents were taken into custody, police say
Detroit Police Department
A 5-year-old child is dead in Detroit after shooting himself with a gun while he was left unattended with his siblings.
Detroit Police Chief James White said at a news briefing Saturday that the child was left home with his four siblings and found a gun on a dresser. White said the child jumped on the bed, turned the gun on himself and shot himself in the face. The boy was pronounced dead at the scene.
“Absolutely ridiculous, irresponsible, stupid and unnecessary and I’m sick and tired of it — and we have now a baby dead weeks before Christmas,” White said of the incident, adding that the child’s parents were taken into custody.
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White did not say what charges the parents could be facing as a result of the incident.
The four other children home were an 8-year-old, two 7-year-olds and a 4-year-old.
White said one of the parents was out fixing a car while the other was seeing friends at the time of the shooting.
“When parents are making these types of decisions,” White said, “[the children] don’t have a chance.”
For more information on safe firearm storage and the most effective ways to protect children from unsecured firearms, visit BeSMARTforkids.org.
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