09 June 2023 , 15:12
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A six-year-old boy shot his baby brother twice after getting his hands on a loaded gun left in the house.
The boy shot his one-year-old little brother on Wednesday night, June 7, in Detroit's east side. The infant was shot through his cheek and left shoulder while sitting in a baby bouncer, according to police.
He had reportedly managed to get his hands on a loaded, semi-automatic weapon which had been left in the house. Police said the boys' mother was down the street and their dad was in the garden with some other children and an uncle when the shooting happened.
The boys' mother was at a house down the road and their father in the back garden when the shooting happened (Local 4)Assistant Chief of Detroit Police Charles Fitzgerald said in a conference: "A one-year-old baby was in his bouncy when another family member, a child, gets a hold of a gun and shot his sibling, not once but twice.
"The one-year-old was shot through his cheek and through his left shoulder. We are very fortunate that that child is still with us."
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"We're here far too often talking about securing your weapons," continued Chief Fitzgerald.
"There are gun locks, there are gun safes, there are the highest shelves you can find in your house. Put the gun up as high as you possibly can."
The baby boy is expected to survive but was still in hospital as of Thursday morning, June 8, according to WDIV-TV.
Chief Fitzgerald called the shooting "preventable" as he urged households with firearms to think about where they're stored.
Authorities sought a search warrant to search the house, according to Chief Fitzgerald. He said the findings of the investigation are expected to be presented to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office to determine whether charges will be filed.
The one-year-old was shot through the cheek and shoulder (NBC News)The semi-automatic weapon was reportedly unsecured and unregistered, and while nobody has been arrested, the mother and father are cooperating with the police investigation.
The assistant chief said the six-year-old is also likely "traumatised" by the incident.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said: "These types of shootings are completely and totally and absolutely preventable.
"It is just infuriating and it's going to continue to happen."
In April, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill instituting safe storage requirements for guns. It was described as a long overdue step to keep guns out of the reach of children.
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The law was passed after more than 110 gun incidents involving children were reported in Michigan since 2015. It's expected to come into effect in 2024.
In the US there have been at least 128 unintentional shootings by children so far this year, according to a database from Everytown for Gun Safety, an advocacy group calling for stricture gun laws. 54 people are thought to have died as a result of these shootings.