(WXYZ) — Detroit police are investigating after a young boy got access to an unsecured firearm and shot his teenage sister.
It happened Tuesday at a home on Freeland Street on the city's west side.
"I was in the kitchen and my wife was gone and I heard somebody bam-ing on the door," said neighbor Sherman Levingston. "When I came to the door I seen maybe 6-8 police men they was kicking in the door."
Police say the teen girl is expected to recover. Charges in this case have not yet been rendered as the investigation continues.
"It’s just sad, all these kids getting shot nowadays. No supervision over these 6, 7, 8, 10, 12-year-old kids. It’s ridiculous. It’s the parents' fault, no doubt about it," said Levingston.
The shooting now joins a growing list of similar cases around metro Detroit. Last week, a 5-year-old boy died in Westland after getting hold of an unsecured firearm and accidentally shooting himself. The boy's parents are now facing charges.
"This is a unique American problem. This is not the rest of the world. This only happens in the United States of America where gun violence is the leading cause of death for children," said Pastor Barry Randolph of the Church of Messiah.
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Randolph has been working to prevent gun violence in the city of Detroit for nearly 20 years. Each year, his congregation hosts the Silence the Violence walk, which is now a national movement set to host walks in several cities in other states. The church also provides free internet to neighbors, affordable housing and more as they believe crime is a symptom of larger societal issues.
"I know people have guns because they want to protect themselves from things like burglars, this that and the other, people from the outside," said Randolph. "But now you have to think about protection on the inside. So you also need to think about the safety of that weapon and keeping it out of the reach of children."
Randolph says cases like these are the reason his team advocated for stricter gun laws like universal background checks, red flag laws and Michigan's Safe Storage laws which took effect in February.
But are the safe storage laws working? Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy says yes.
"I don’t think we can deter it from happening but what we can do is make sure people know about these laws," said Worthy in a phone interview Thursday.
Worthy says her office had been fighting for laws like these since 2015. She says while it might not stop people from making poor decisions, it's another tool in their toolbox to hold people accountable.
This year the Wayne County Prosecutor says they have rendered charges in seven unsecured firearms cases.
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"Everybody’s talking about it now because we have the laws in place to make sure we have the tools that we need to charge these crimes. So, yes from the global standpoint I think it has been successful. I think as time goes on we might even prevent a few lives (lost)," said Worthy. "I think as people start hearing more and more of these and as we start charging more and more under the statute, it will be a deterrent."
Community leaders say they are hopeful parents and caregivers will begin taking safe gun ownership seriously soon.
"Everybody is not necessarily getting the message, but I do believe people just think this is not going to happen to me. My child, if they see it, they’re not going to pick it up. They’re not going to do anything. Children are naturally curious, you never know. Lock it up and be safe," said Randolph.
