DETROIT, MI (WXYZ) — An infant child was accidentally shot Wednesday afternoon in Detroit, police say. The child, confirmed to be under the age of one, was shot by its 6-year-old sibling. The infant is expected to survive, police say.
The incident happened at around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday on Tennessee Street near Freud Street. According to police, the baby's older sibling was handling the gun as the infant was in a bouncer. The infant was shot two times. Once in the cheek and once in the left shoulder.
"Very, very fortunate that child is still with us," Assistant Police Chief Charles Fitzgerald said.
According to Detroit police, the child is in stable condition.
They say the six-year-old got child got hold of an unsecured and unregistered gun inside the home on Tennessee Street. The father and uncle were out in the backyard. The mother was down the street at another family member's home at the time of the shooting.
"We're here far too often talking about securing a weapon. There are gun locks. There are gun safes. The highest shelf you can find in your house," Assistant Chief Fitzgerald said.
Syreeta Wilson, a member of the east side neighborhood, said many are upset but not shocked by the scene that unfolded near her mother's house Wednesday afternoon.
"It's happening too much. We losing too many people over this. These weapons," Wilson said.
Wilson, like many across metro Detroit including Detroit Police, says she is tired of having to repeat the same message over and over.
"Get a lock, a safe deposit box. Lock it up in a closet so they can't reach it. We need to really stop this. We're adults, they're children. They're innocent," Wilson said.
