5-year-old Detroit boy dies, shoots himself with gun in front of siblings: Authorities
A 5-year-old boy in Detroit has died after he shot himself in the face with a gun that was left unsecured, authorities say.
Detroit Police said five children were left unattended in a Detroit apartment with an unsecured gun left on top of a dresser. The kids were between the ages of four and eight.
The five-year-old boy got the gun and was playing, "jumping up and down on a bed, turns the gun on himself and shoots himself in the face," Police Chief James White said in a press briefing.
He died at the scene and his siblings witnessed the shooting.
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Authorities investigating, parents in custody
"Absolutely ridiculous, irresponsible, stupid and unnecessary, and I’m sick and tired of it," White said. "It's absolutely ridiculous. You got a baby now that is dead weeks before Christmas. Should be getting excited about Christmas toys, and the parents leave a gun unsupervised."
Both parents have been arrested and are in custody, White said.
He said neither of the explanations of either parent made "any sense." One of the parents was visiting friends, and the other was outside the home working on a car, he said.
The department is investigating and will be searching the apartment. White said police will be reaching out to prosecutors about potential charges against the parents.
In a follow up post, the department emphasized the importance of making sure firearms are secured.
"We cannot stress enough the importance of securing and locking up your guns," the post read.
The incident comes amid a rise in gun violence in the US. A recent research paper from researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital, published in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics found the rate of gun deaths among children and teens increased by 87% in the past decade.