Toddler shot in Detroit • Possible gun charges for Jameson Williams? • Corewell nurses close to unionizing

WEDNESDAY NEWS HIT - Detroit police are currently investigating a shooting of a 3-year-old boy early Wednesday that they say doesn't make any sense.

"The story's not making any sense at all. Conflicting stories from the mom, conflicting stories from the dad," Detroit Police Asst. Chief Charles Fitzgerald said. "Mom's version is she went to the laundry mat, came home, they were unloading the car, heard a pop, went inside and checked on the baby and there's nothing consistent with the scene."

Fitzgerald said the boy was taken to a hospital after he was shot in the stomach and critically injured. Police went to the 4000 block of Grand, where the parents say the shooting happened, but evidence doesn't support the claims.

"This area here is actually a ShotSpotter area. No indication there was a shot fired over here," he said.

Fitzgerald said there were no shell casings and no gun in that area.

Both parents have been detained for questioning as investigators continue to piece together what happened. 

Possible gun charges for Jameson Williams?

Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams could be facing gun charges stemming from a traffic stop earlier this month.

On Oct. 8, Williams was a passenger when his brother was stopped for speeding in Detroit. During that stop, Williams had a gun registered to him under his seat. The only problem? He's not a concealed pistol license holder, and carrying in a vehicle is considered concealed carrying. His brother does have a CPL, but the gun was under Williams' spot, not his brother's.

Officers prepared to take Williams into custody before a supervisor arrived, and he was returned his weapon and allowed to leave.

"The perception in the community could be that we're treating somebody differently than somebody else, and we just can't have that,"said Cmdr. Michael McGinnis, with Detroit Police Internal Affairs. 

The sergeant would make a series of phone calls to higher-ups, typical of a high-profile person in custody.

"This sergeant happened to be a fan of the Lions and that's evident from the body worn cameras," McGinnis said. "I'm a fan, but we have to separate ourselves from that."

At first, it sounded like Williams would go to jail – but that changed with a last-second callback from a lieutenant.

McGinnis said the lieutenant determined the brother's CPL covered the two guns in the vehicle.

Internal affairs is now probing the actions taken that night, and the case has been submitted to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office for review. 

Corewell nurses close to unionizing

Nurses at Corewell Health are preparing to vote on unionizing.

"We thought once we were done with Covid, because of the sacrifice and doing a lot of things that put us and our families at risk, that we’d be more recognized," said Rebecca Smola, a nurse at Corewell Health Dearborn.

But many nurses at Corewell Health say they’re still waiting for that recognition

"And some things have gotten worse and that was kind of the time when I felt a union was appropriate," Smola said.

Smola and a portion of Corewell nurses are working to unionize, which would cap the efforts that started back last October.

"We had the merger happen with Spectrum Hospital on the west side of the state with Beaumont, and it became Corewell Health," said Sarah Johnson, a clinical nurse at Corewell Health Royal Oak. "That was the moment when I knew that we had to do something.

Nurses believe a union would give them a voice and lead to better work conditions.

They are set to vote in November.

Harris, Trump supporters face off in Livonia

After several years of holding weekly pro-Donald Trump demonstrations in Livonia, supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris started gathering across the street, leading to some tense moments between the groups.

It was civil for the most part at the intersection of 7 Mile and Farmington, but police had to get involved once it allegedly started to get physical.

"For the last couple of weeks the 'Trumpanzees' have come over and assaulted some elderly Harris supporters - me being one of them," John Schmidt claimed. "I believe the Livonia Police finally got the message that they should probably be out here before things happen then afterwards."

As the two groups face off across from each other, some words have flown between the gatherings, including some when FOX 2 cameras were rolling Tuesday.

A Harris supporter off-camera began shouting: "Nazi! Nazi! Nazi!"

"There you go. See I just got called a Nazi," said Bill Jarratt, a Trump supporter. "I’m the furthest thing from a Nazi and Trump’s the furthest thing from a Nazi as well."

Harris fans say they too were pelted with insults.

"A few people from the other side were coming over from the other side trying to ruffle our feathers," Harris support Amy Cowan said. "But with having the police here, they went back and things stayed calm. It was great. It’s a good night to be out."

Woman pleads no contest after leaving friend to die

Last summer, Mia Kanu was found with severe head trauma in the middle of Providence Drive in Southfield. Months later, one of her friends was charged with leaving her there.

According to authorities, Kentia Fearn, 24, was driving on Providence early June 3, 2023, after leaving a party when 23-year-old Mia Kanu fell from the vehicle. Police said Fearn left the scene instead of stopping and reporting what happened to police.

Kanu was taken to a hospital, where she died a few days later.

Fearn was arrested and charged months later with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and operating while intoxicated. She pleaded no contest to the charges this week and will be sentenced in December. 

The Pulse: Kamala Harris, Donald Trump make final push

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We could have record-setting heat again today.

What else we're watching

1. Police are looking for three suspects after a man posing as a salesman broke into a Taylor home on Tuesday afternoon.
2. A man has filed a $10 million lawsuit against Michigan State Police, alleging that they conspired to plant drugs on him during a traffic stop in southwest Michigan earlier this year.
3. Dr. Ram Garg was arraigned on 35 charges on Tuesday stemming from an alleged pill mill he ran out of his Taylor office.
4. A Michigan man on parole for sex crimes is now headed to prison for decades after preying on a child. Police say Jared Hanner convinced a woman to send him photos of sexually explicit photos of a child while on parole for a criminal sexual conduct conviction.
5. Halloween is coming - check our haunted house guide to plan this week's scares. 

Americans' perceptions of US crime have improved since last year, Gallup poll finds

A recent poll shows that Americans' views of crime in the nation have improved compared to how they felt in 2023.

According to Gallup, the public’s perceptions on the issue have changed, with 64% now saying national crime has soared during the past year, representing a 13 point decline in how they felt in 2023.  And 56% of people who now believe the problem of crime in the country is "extremely" or "very" serious is down seven percentage points.

Another 29% of respondents say there is less crime and 4% think that it's about the same amount of crime. Approximately 25% of Americans think crime is "extremely" and 31% "very" serious, 37% say it is "moderately" and 5% say "not too" serious.

Results for the poll are from Gallup’s Oct. 1-12 annual Crime survey. But in a separate poll from September, Gallup noted that although crime does not rank among the top voting issues affecting voters’ presidential selection in 2024, 75% still believe it is extremely or very important to their vote.