DETROIT (WWJ) – A 4-year-old Detroit boy is hospitalized after being shot in the face by his 9-year-old brother as they were playing with an unsecured gun on Thursday.
"Here we are again," said Assistant Police Chief Charles Fitzgerald, announcing the incident a little more than a week after an 8-year-old was shot in a similar incident.
Thursday's incident happened on Larchmont Street, near Tireman and I-96 on the city's west side.
The 9-year-old found the gun in their 17-year-old brother's bedroom and began playing with it, eventually shooting the younger boy through the cheek and into the shoulder, according to Fitzgerald.
Investigators say an 11-year-old sister was at home at the time of the shooting and the 17-year-old may have also been present. But authorities say no parents or guardians were in the house when the shooting occurred.
Detroit police have dealt with a rash of these situations in recent years, including the Oct. 3 shooting that sent the 8-year-old boy to the hospital. That boy's father was arrested and charged with four counts of child abuse.
Like White after that shooting, Fitzgerald stressed the importance of safe gun ownership and implored residents to keep their firearms secured.
"Gun locks, gun locks, gun locks," Fitzgerald said Thursday. "We give them out at every precinct. We will bring them to you. We have to secure these weapons. Being a parent is a huge, huge responsibility."
Two people at the scene were taken into custody due to warrants for their arrests. Fitzgerald said police were "still trying to work out what their role was" in the incident. He said one of the people in custody "might possibly" be the brother, but there was "a lot of shifting of names and who they are," according to the assistant chief.
Fitzgerald said the young boy who fired the shots mentioned his brother had previously shown him the gun -- which was registered to someone in Southfield.
