Adult in custody after 8-year-old dies from accidental shooting

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Detroit police said an adult man is in custody after an 8-year-old died when an unsecured handgun went off inside a home over the weekend.

It's the latest in a string of accidental shootings ending with a child losing their life, the Detroit Police chief said.

"We don't know exactly what transpired once the weapon was found, but we're confident that it was an unsecured weapon that led to this tragedy," James White said late Monday morning.

The fatal shooting happened around 10:30 p.m. in the 15700 block of Ward where a group of kids inside a home got ahold of the handgun.

White said during a press conference the person in custody was known to the victim but not related to them.

"We're always here talking about this, if you're going to be a gun owner you're going to have to be responsible and unfortunately we have yet another situation where one of Detroit's children was killed because an adult made a horrible decision to leave the gun unsecured," he said.

Recent cases include a 5-year-old struck in the hand in May, an 11-year-old in April, and a 1-year-old shot by their brother in June.

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A 14-year-old also died from a gunshot while making a music video in June, police said.

The weekend's shooting is an example of what lawmakers are trying to end with a mandatory safe storage bill signed earlier this year. 

Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed it and a universal background check law in April as part of an initial string of gun safety rules sought by Democrats' new majority.