DETROIT (WWJ) – “How many children have to die because of an unsecured weapon?”
That’s the question Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy is asking after she charged 31-year-old Erica Sade Graham with the shooting death of her daughter.
Graham has been charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree child abuse and three counts of felony firearm in connection with the shooting at her home on Heyden Street Tuesday morning.
The prosecutor’s office says a 10-year-old child found an unsecured handgun in the home and fired it, fatally striking Graham’s 8-year-old daughter.
The girl was taken to a nearby fire station before medics took her to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Detroit police said Tuesday no adults were home at the time of the shooting.
Graham was arraigned Thursday in 36th District Court in Detroit. Bond was set at $150,000. If released, Graham will be ordered to wear a GPS tether with home confinement. Her next court date is set for Sept. 30.
“How many children have to die because of an unsecured weapon? Why is it so hard to secure a gun when you know that children either live or visit your home frequently? Why are the deaths of these children acceptable because surely if preventing these deaths was a priority, the political will to fix this would be at an all-time high,” Worthy said, per a press release.
It’s a plea officials in Detroit have had to make too often in recent years, with numerous children dying because of unsecured weapons in the home.
Detroit Police Chief James White called Tuesday’s shooting “absolutely sad and tragic” and said it shouldn’t have happened.
"...I've got an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old in a house with an unsecured weapon. I've got kids that should be in school, so it shouldn't have happened,” he said.
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