DETROIT (WWJ) -- A Detroit toddler is hospitalized on Tuesday, after finding and picking up a gun at a home on the city's west side.
Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison said officers responded to a 911 call to the home, near Evergreen Rd. and I-96, at around 8 a.m. on November 3.
The 2-year-old was found to be suffering from a gunshot wound, and was taken to a local hospital in critical condition.
Bettison told reporters that the registered handgun had been left unsecured in the home.
"The message to parents: Secure firearms...anyone," the chief said. "Whether it's a gun lock, a gun safe, it is your responsibility to secure your weapons, and if you don't, you'll be held accountable."
Bettison said the child's mother was cooking breakfast at the time, and heard a pop before she found her child shot.
It's believed that the child found the gun in the mother's purse.
Under Michigan's safe storage law (Public Act 17 of 2023 / MCL 28.429), firearm owners must keep unattended weapons unloaded and locked with a locking device or stored in a locked box or container whenever it is reasonably known that a minor under 18 is, or is likely to be, present.
Charges could be filed in the coming days.
Reminder: Free gun locks are available to city residents at all Detroit Police Department Precincts, with no questions asked. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) provides an interactive MDHHS Gun Lock Distribution Map showing over 150 partner sites statewide where free cable gun locks are available.
