‘A beautiful child’: Relatives heartbroken after 5-year-old dies from unsecured gun

Family of 5-year-old killed by unsecured gun are left grieving as police review charges

Investigators say he was jumping up and down on a bed when he grabbed a loaded gun off a dresser and accidentally shot himself. His parents returned home after the shooting and police immediately arrested both of them.

DETROIT (FOX 2) - It's a story we hear all too often - a 5-year-old boy was killed in Detroit due to an unsecured gun.

Sturlin Minion died Saturday after accidentally shooting himself in the face with an unsecured weapon.

"I used to call him golden because everything about his exterior, hair and everything was gold, he was a beautiful child," said Sophia Perryman, his grandmother.

"So we’ve got a baby now, that is dead weeks before Christmas," said Detroit Police Chief James White. "He should be excited about getting Christmas toys, and the parents leave a gun unsupervised."

Sturlin was home alone with his four siblings — ages 8 to 4 years old on Saturday afternoon at their apartment on Greenfield near McNichols on Detroit’s west side.

Investigators say he was jumping up and down on a bed when he grabbed a loaded gun off a dresser and accidentally shot himself.

His parents returned home after the shooting and police immediately arrested both of them.

"I text my son, every time he always says 'I’m at work,' and he was at work the day that it happened," said Sophia. "I was supposed to get them, they called me Friday, I was so busy though. I wish I would have gotten them before i got busy."

Sadly, what happened to Sturlin is not an isolated incident in Detroit.

Time and time again, children are getting a hold of unsecured guns and accidentally shooting themselves or each other.

"We’re angry and the community needs to be outraged, right?" said Quincy Smith, project manager, Ceasefire Detroit. "So our commitment at Ceasefire, the commitment at the Detroit Health Department, we've got to stand up, we've got to be vocal. We've got to provide resources and we have to continue to educate the community."

The family of Sturlin are raising money to help pay for his funeral with a GoFundMe account HERE.