Detroit 4-year-old recovering at home after being struck during drive-by shooting, police say

4-year-old child shot while sleeping inside house, expected to recover

About five children were sleeping inside the home when shots rang out on Detroit's west side near Stout and Evergreen.

DETROIT (FOX 2) - A 4-year-old boy is home recovering after being shot in the backside while sleeping at his residence on Detroit's west side. The shooter is still at large.

The child was hospitalized after four rounds were fired into the home, located on Stout Street around 3 a.m. Wednesday and was listed in critical condition at the time. He returned home later in the morning.

"This is unacceptable," Detroit Police Chief James White said. "It’s unspeakable, it’s unnecessary, it’s outrageous."

There were five children inside the house at the time.

The latest instance of gun violence involving a child has spooked many in the neighborhood, who awoke to the sound of gunfire and police sirens Wednesday morning.

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Detroit police shared updates on two shootings that left a 4-year-old boy and an 81-year-old man hurt.

"I was frightened, you know what I mean? I hear gunshots all the time but just not that close and when I look out the window and hear people screaming ‘he got hit, he got hit’," said Brendon Hall, a neighbor.

4-year-old boy recovering after drive-by shooting injures him while sleeping

Detroit police are asking for the public's help in getting more information about the suspect behind a shooting at a home on the city's west side. The boy, who was shot in the rear, was taken home after being released from the hospital

"Of all places right here on this dead end, like I said its very quiet on this end so for something like this to happen it's very, very shocking," Latrice Phillips, another neighbor.

Gunfire broke out in the 18400 block of Stout Street near Pickford. Phillips was hosting a sleepover for several kids when he heard the shooting.

"When the shots went off, I did see a few guys running that way and then I'm like ‘I don’t know if they were involved' but then the police came and I was like ‘maybe that was what was going on,’" he said.

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It's witnesses like Phillips and other members of the public that will be key to Detroit police's investigation. Officers were seeking the help of residents who live nearby if they have home cameras that may have spotted something.

Police say the bullets came from a high-powered assault rifle.

They'll also be asking for any potential green light footage.

"This poor kids is just laying in bed - can't even lay in bed in the middle of the night without dealing with this. I mean, enough is enough," said Asst. Chief Charles Fitzgerald with DPD.

Fitzgerald said the department needs help solving the crime because there are no leads.

"We have a whole lot of nothing to go on," he said.