An 18-month-old boy found a loaded gun Wednesday in a west-side house, and now his 5-year-old cousin is dead, after the toddler fired the weapon accidentally.
Detroit police are investigating a west-side shooting of a child (File photo)
The dead child's father, 27, is under arrest.
The 5-year-old was pronounced dead at a local hospital shortly after the shooting at 9:30 a.m., Detroit police said.
The 27-year-old father of the victim, thought to be the owner of the handgun involved, has been arrested, according to Detroit police. The incident occurred in the 2400 block of Sturtevant, south of the Davison and west of the Lodge Freeway.
"It's a sad day in the city today," Detroit Police 10th Precinct Cmdr. Tiffany Stewart said at a news conference about the shooting. "We lost another child in the city of Detroit due to a lack of firearm safety. This was completely avoidable."
It's the second shooting of a child in as many days. On Tuesday, a 10-year-old was injured and his mother killed after their white SUV was ambushed by gunmen on Downing Street in Southwest Detroit. Police said the mother and son were from Ohio and were in town visiting family; the shooting is thought to be a case of mistaken identity. The four gunmen were dressed in black and wore black ski masks.
