(WWJ) One small child has been killed by another in what police are calling a "tragic" and "avoidable" shooting in Detroit.
Detroit Police Tenth Precinct Commander Tiffany Stewart says it happened shortly before 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, at a home in the 2400 block of Sturtevant St. on the city's west side.
Officers responding to a 911 call found a 5-year-old boy who'd been shot in the neck.
The child was treated by EMS at the scene and then taken to a local hospital where he died.
Stewart said an investigation found that this was an accidental shooting.
According to family members, it appears an 18-month-old toddler found an unsecured gun in the home, Stewart said, picked it up, began playing with it, and it fired once — fatally wounding the 5-year-old.
The children's father was taken into custody for questioning, Stewart said. A grandmother and a third child, age 1, were also in the house at the time of the shooting, but no one else was injured.
The gun was recovered.
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Calling it a "sad day in the city," Stewart said, "We lost another child due to a lack of gun safety."
"This is why we emphasize gun safety in the of Detroit, with gun locks and lock boxes," Stewart said, adding, "There have been far too many of these types of incidents."
No names have been released and no charges have been filed as the investigation continues.
Stewart said Child Protective Services (CPS) has been alerted about the incident.