DETRIOT (WWJ) - The father of the 1 year-old shot by his 6-year-old cousin on Detroit’s east side Wednesday night says his son is in stable condition, but will undergo surgery today to remove a bullet still lodged in his cheek.
The father, Mandell Berryman, spoke with WWJ's Charlie Langton and said he can't figure out how his nephew got ahold of the gun and fired two shots around 7:45 p.m. in the 600 block of Tennessee, near the Detroit Riverfront, on June 7th.
According to Assistant Police Chief Charles Fitzgerald, the baby was in his bouncy seat when a 6-year-old family member got ahold of a gun and shot the infant, “not once, but twice" in his shoulder and then in the face.
Berryman told Langton on Wednesday morning that the 6-year-old is his nephew -- his wife's sister's son -- and the two boys are cousins. While the 1-year-old is in stable condition, Berryman said his son is currently in surgery to remove a bullet that is still in his cheek area.
But questions remain.
"Where was that gun?" Langton asked.
"In the safe. Under the bed," Berryman said.
"How did a 6-year-old get the gun?" Langton questioned.
"He must have crawled up under the bed and grabbed it," the father replied.
When asked what was going through his mind, Berryman said "hurt."
"There's nothing else we can say," the father continued. "It was in a safe, it was properly put up. Unfortunately, kid found it and made a shot."
Berryman said he was outside working on a fence with another family member and other children when the gun, which was not registered, was fired. The boy's mother was just down the street.
“Here we are again. Once again, another senseless, preventable, horrible incident for this young kid,” Fitzgerald told reporters near the scene on Wednesday night after police responded to the home.
“We’re here far too often talking about securing weapons. There are gun locks, there are gun safes – the highest shelf you can find in your house. Put the gun up. As high as you can.”
Berryman said police will not let him see his child during surgery.
The incident is under investigation and authorities say the case will be reviewed and sent to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office for possible charges.