16-year-old arrested for shooting teen in head, also wounds own mother in Detroit

Teen arrested for shooting 14-year-old in head, wounding own mother in Detroit

A 16-year-old is behind bars for shooting another teen and wounding his own mother in the process, Detroit police say.

DETROIT (FOX 2) - A 16-year-old was arrested for shooting a 14-year-old in the head and wounding his own mother in the arm just before 6 p.m. on Detroit's west side Thursday.

The 14-year-old is in critical condition and the wounded woman is expected to recover, according to Assistant Chief Charles Fitzgerald with Detroit police.

Officials say the shooting resulted from an argument between a 6 and 8-year-old boy on Delaware Street in the Virginia Park neighborhood.

A 13-year-old who is related, intervened to break the two up when the 8-year-old then got his 14-year-old family member.

"When they get back to the area, there’s the 13-year-old and 14-year-old kind of jawing back and forth," Fitzgerald told FOX 2. "The young man that came back from the house, there’s a 16-year-old who comes along. Mom tries to stop him. He pulls out a gun and starts shooting."

The 16-year-old then allegedly shot the 14-year-old in the head and then shot his own mother in the arm. The 16-year-old is the cousin of the 13-year-old, according to DPD.

Fitzgerald says the 14-year-old is "extremely critical." It is unclear if the 14-year-old is related to the woman.

The 16-year-old was taken into custody quickly, Detroit police say, because when he fled, he ran past a DPD undercover operation that was working on a separate incident.

Photo Credit: Lauren Edwards/FOX 2

"The undercovers got the young man running," Fitzgerald told FOX 2's Lauren Edwards. "He matched the description, (after police) stopped him, he had a big heart rate.

"The first thing he asked when they got him in the (police) car was, 'How’s my mom?'"

Fitzgerald said it is another instance of a needless shooting involving children when a peaceful resolution should have been the result.

"Right now, over a silliness fight between a 6-year-old and an 8-year-old, we have a 14-year-old that’s in critical condition. He’s in surgery now and our suspect's mom who was shot in the arm," he said. "Just the fact that he brought a gun to an argument between a 6 and 8-year-old and thought that was the right thing to do."

Stay with FOX 2 for more information as it becomes available.