9-year-old boy shoots self with unsecured gun in Madison Heights
MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich. (FOX 2) - A 9-year-old boy accidentally shot himself in the hand with an unsecured handgun in Madison Heights Friday afternoon.
Police say the victim is in stable condition after shooting himself in the left hand with the gun, around 1:30 p.m., while at a residence in the 30000 block of Palmer.
One arrest has been made, but the relation to the victim is unclear.
Police said the child's parents rushed him to a Royal Oak hospital, where police met them and began their investigation.
"It’s completely preventable, and that’s the sad part – and it’s way too common," said Madison Heights Police Lt. David Koehler. "Every gun comes with a securing device. The police department has them to give away, so it’s way too easily preventable."
The Madison Heights Police Department will submit the case to the Oakland County Prosecutor's office.
If anyone has information on this incident, contact Detective Lieutenant Koehler at 248- 837-2732 or The Madison Heights Police Department at 248-585-2100.
"It should be a lesson to everybody," Koehler said. "Hopefully everybody pays attention and remembers that it can happen to anybody. And just secure your firearms."
A safe storage gun law went into effect on Feb. 13 – which requires unattended firearms to be unloaded and secured with a cable lock, or stored in a gun safe, if a minor is present.
Since then, cable-style gun locks have been made available for free in every local health department office and several law enforcement agencies in Michigan.
No further information has been released.
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Free gun locks now available at every Michigan health department office
The partnership, between MSP and the MDHHS, further supports compliance with the safe storage gun law that went into effect on Feb. 13 – which requires unattended firearms to be unloaded and secured with a cable lock, or stored in a gun safe, if a minor is present.